Kaleidoscopic (Being Rewritten)
by Irisviel101
Summary: One could describe Gan Gan Galaxy as kaleidoscopic. They were, after all, an interesting mix of different personalities. A rainy day's boredom changes the entire dynamics of Gan Gan Galaxy. Watch out world, for this team is a lot more ready for the World Championships. Featuring a more team-oriented Gan Gan Galaxy. Metal Masters AU. I don't own Metal Fight Beyblade. Being rewritten
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, this is what I've been busy with the past few days. If anyone's wondering why I haven't updated my other stories yet, it's because I've been drifting away from Inazuma Eleven for a while. I won't discontinue them though. I hate leaving people hanging.**

 **Anyways, for now, just enjoy this story.**

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 1: Power Out**

The streets of Hong Kong were definitely soaking in the downpour. Honestly, Gingka was glad they hadn't gone outside that day or they would have been stuck there. The redhead threw a small glare at the youngest member of the team for talking too loudly to Tsubasa – seriously, he wasn't even listening! – as he finished recounting the events of the first round to his childhood friend, Hyoma. He turned his gaze to Masamune, who was watching the ceiling from a nearby chair as Madoka repaired their beys next to him.

When Gingka finally put the phone in his pocket, Masamune screamed, "This is so boring!" The others would have replied, if it hadn't been the tenth time in a row.

Normally, boredom wouldn't be a problem for Gan Gan Galaxy, but since their beys (except Yu's) were being repaired after their battle with Wang Hu Zhong, they couldn't exactly battle. Otherwise, they'd have had to face Madoka's wrath, which was never a good thing. And since it was raining, they couldn't look around the city for something interesting to do.

"Find something to do then," Madoka said, not taking her eyes off of Pegasus as she brushed out the dirt from it. "There are plenty of activities on the internet."

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Masamune whipped out his phone from his pocket. Gingka took a seat next to Madoka, watching her work. Just as he did, a loud roar echoed in the room and a bright flash of lightning illuminated the room.

A few seconds later, the power went out.

All was silent for a while as everyone took in the situation. Then, Yu spoke up. "Hey, what happened to the power?"

Madoka was the one who answer. "It went out." Gingka could hear the sourness in her tone, though he couldn't really blame her. He would hate being interrupted while doing something important too.

The redhead himself sighed and pouted. It just wasn't their day. This was just adding salt to the wound caused by the incessant rain.

Masamune's reaction, however, was not as mellow. Taken by surprise, he leaned back on the chair enough for it to fall backwards, creating a loud crash which was soon followed by a yelp. Gingka sighed. Did he _have_ to be so loud? "Great. The net won't work now."

In other words, more complaints.

The room was suddenly illuminated again, this time by a beam of light coming from Madoka's hand. Apparently, she had managed to find a flashlight.

The five made their way to the center of the room, trying not to bump into anything, and sat on their beds while the flashlight remained on the table, shining in their direction. For a while, they just looked at each other.

"So, what now?" Yu asked.

Good question. A really good question.

Gingka thought for a while. What could they do that was fun, available at the moment and an activity that wouldn't end in an argument?

Honestly, it was kind of sad when he came up blank.

Suddenly, a snap pulled him out of his thoughts. They all turned to a beaming Madoka who was holding out two fingers in front of her. "Since there's nothing we can do right now, we might as well get to know each other."

Yeah, an excellent way to start an argument.

At everyone's blank looks, she elaborated, "I mean, we know next to nothing about each other."

Gingka wondered if it even mattered. They could function as a team without knowing much about each other, right?

"Come on! You saw how well Wang Hu Zhong works with each other, and who knows how better the other teams will be! If we have to participate as a team, we might as well start working together."

That _was_ a good point, he had to admit.

They just blinked at her while she stared back, her blue eyes wide and hopeful. Then, the silence was broken by Tsubasa's sigh. "Fine. It's not like we have anything better to do."

Gingka sighed. "You have a point."

One by one, they all agreed. Beaming, Madoka said, "I read about this activity called the Twenty Questions the other day. Basically, you just have to ask a question and the rest have to answer truthfully, you follow?"

As long as it was nothing embarrassing.

"Sounds simple," Masamune said. Looking around, he declared, "I'll go first then."

Good. Gingka was in no hurry to ask a question. What should he ask anyways?

Met with no objections, he thought for a while. "If you had to give up a food forever, which one would be the hardest to give up?"

From how quick Yu's answer was, one would think he didn't even _need_ to think. "Ice-cream."

Gingka crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression. What would be the hardest to give up? "Triple beef hamburgers." That one was obvious. There were also a few others though. "And Madoka's cake. And-"

Masamune interrupted him, holding one finger in front of him. "One food, Gingka."

The redhead pouted. This was turning out to be harder than he thought. "Fine. The hamburger."

Tsubasa had his eyes closed as he said, "Fish."

Really? Gingka didn't even like fish! Then again, eagles loved them. Maybe Tsubasa was trying to give up being a human in favor of being an eagle...

"Does coffee count?" Madoka asked.

Did it? It wasn't exactly a food, but it _was_ edible. Still, he had no idea Madoka liked coffee. Maybe this _was_ necessary after all...

Masamune thought about it for a few seconds. "I guess. Mine would be burgers too."

Wait, they had to answer their own question too?

Yu raised his hand and waved it around. Gingka noticed with some amusement that he nearly poked Tsubasa's eye out and did even notice when the silver haired blader glared at him in annoyance. "I'll go next. If you were an ice-cream, which flavor would you be?"

The rest sweat dropped at the unusual question. In hindsight, they really should have seen an ice-cream related question coming from Yu.

Ice-cream, huh? There wasn't a flavor he particularly liked _or_ disliked, so...

"Chocolate, I guess," Gingka and Masamune said at the same time. Why did they always have to think everything at the same time? It was annoying, to say the least.

"Strawberry," Madoka said. "It's the only type of ice-cream I like." Strawberry, huh?

"Does it have to be ice-cream?" Tsubasa asked. At Yu's rapid nod, he sighed. "Vanilla." Gingka got the impression that he answered just to get it over with. After all, Tsubasa wasn't exactly a big fan of ice-cream.

"I'd be butterscotch," Yu said.

Butterscotch? Honestly, he had thought chocolate would be Yu's answer.

"I thought you'd have be chocolate," Masamune commented, obviously thinking along the same lines as him. Again.

Yu pulled a face. "I'm allergic to chocolate."

Wait, what? Allergic? Then, Gingka recalled the he had, in fact, never seen Yu eat chocolate before. Honestly, how could he have missed that?

He then turned to Gingka. "Your turn, Gingky."

Gingka looked around the group. What should he ask? The last couple of questions had taught him that he knew next to nothing about his teammates. Where should he start?

He asked the first thing that came to his mind. "Favorite color?"

"Green," Masamune said immediately. No surprised, considering how green his outfit and bey were.

"Black," Tsubasa said. Now that came as more of a surprise. Then again, Tsubasa _had_ always been a mystery.

"Pink." No surprise again, for some reason.

Yu shrugged. "I'm colorblind, so..."

Okay, they had definitely needed this. He hadn't ever realized that Yu was colorblind. Honestly, he had always thought that Yu was an open book, but now that they had started this, he couldn't help but wonder a lot of things.

How come Yu stayed with Tsubasa and not his parents? How come Tsubasa was an agent despite not being a legal adult? How old was he anyways? How come Madoka never beybattled even though she had a bey? Why did Masamune want to be Number One so much?

"What?" Yu asked and Gingka realized that everyone else was gaping at him.

"You just never mentioned it before," Masamune said.

Yu shrugged. "You didn't ask." They really should have, Gingka couldn't help but think. The kid turned to Tsubasa. "Your turn."

Tsubasa thought about it while the rest watched. Gingka was expecting a different question from him, something more to do with the team rather than individual preferences. He didn't disappoint him.

Finally, he said, "What is your honest opinion about your teammates?"

At the question, everyone shared uneasy glances. The last time they commented on each other, they'd gotten into a fight and Madoka had gotten mad, leaving them a week without their beys. There was no way Gingka was going to repeat that.

He was both surprised and unsurprised when Yu was the first to respond.

"Gingky's cool, even if he can be childish sometimes," Yu said, albeit sounding unsure. Gingka smiled at him, encouraging him to go on. "And Madoka's awesome when she's not angry. Then, she's really scary." Gingka shuddered. _That_ was an understatement.

"Tsubasa can be a know-it-all, but he did help me with my nightmares about the Dark Nebula and Reiji, and he lets me stay with him too, so I guess he's cool." Tsubasa's mouth twitched upwards into a small smile which was the only reaction he gave.

Meanwhile, Gingka's mind stopped at one part of the sentence. Nightmares? Just how much did he not know bout his own friends?

"I don't really like it when Masamune teases me about being the sub, but he's not such a bad guy, I guess." By now, it had started to seem as if Yu was talking to himself and not them.

No one said anything for a while so Gingka spoke up. "Masamune's a knucklehead for sure."

He mentally grinned at the loud "Hey!" he received.

"But he did stop me from showing Dashan Star Booster attack and he never gives up. That's something I can respect."

"Thanks," Masamune said, unsure of what else to say.

"But he's still a knucklehead," Gingka finished with a grin, making Masamune clench his fists and glare at him, even if neither of the two held any real bite.

"Yu's a great blader," Gingka continued. "Even if he can be childish, but what would you expect from a kid?"

Yu pouted. "I'm not a kid!" Well, at least _something_ was expected.

"The youngest person around," Gingka corrected, laughing silently along with the rest. "You're a great person, you know."

Immediately, his pout turned into a smile brighter than the sun. "Thanks, Gingky!" he chirped.

"Tsubasa can be a real downer sometimes, but he's an amazing blader for sure. He never freaks out during a beybattle and always calm and collected. He never gets distracted and is always serious, sometimes even a little too serious. Still, you need to loosen up a bit sometimes." Tsubasa nodded in acknowledgment.

"Madoka's-"

Just as Gingka spoke, the light flickered back on and the said brunette turned the flashlight off. Going back to her spot on the bed, she asked, "So, should we continue?"

The four bladers shared looks. Somehow, they all knew what the others were thinking. They could continue their previous activities some other time. And besides, they hadn't been doing anything productive anyways.

"Nah, this is fun," Yu said for all of them.

Years later, the team would look back and marvel at the difference one small game could make.

* * *

 **Sorry if that was a bit cheesy, but I just wanted to do something that would bring the team closer quicker and see how that would affect their journey in the World Championships. The changes will be subtle at the start and turn bigger later.**

 **And seriously, Gan Gan Galaxy _had_ a lot of room for improvement in the anime, especially in the teamwork department. So, this story will focus on those changes and how they work for the better _and_ for the worst. Although I'll try to keep the rewriting to a minimum.**

 **I hope everyone was IC. If not, please tell me where and how and I'll try to fix that. If you have any other suggestions, whether they are about writing or some prompts, feel free to share.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. You have no idea how happy I was at the reviews I received. Thank you so much.**

 **resplandorrosa626** : I'm glad you liked it so much, especially since I'm a big fan of your stories. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this one too.

 **.paul (Won't show the full name for some reason, so sorry):** I'm glad you liked it, although I hadn't read that fanfic until you mentioned it. It is awesome by the way, so thanks. The idea came out of nowhere and I just decided to give it a shot. Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much, but it could also be a reference to his black and white view of the world, especially at the start of the series. Yeah, this place definitely needs some quality Yu fics that are actually finished. Since this chapter is also focused of Yu, please enjoy.

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 2: Why You Shouldn't Mess with Yu**

It had been a day since Gan Gan Galaxy had reached Japan from China, taking a break from the tournament now that their first round was over. The round had been the first of the tournament as a whole, so they had a lot of time before they'd battle.

The team had been ecstatic at being back. Gingka couldn't wait to share his time with Kenta, Masamune was looking forward to eating the triple beef burger of his favorite shop, Madoka really missed her dad's shop and Tsubasa missed his eagle, who couldn't go with them due to the "no pets out of their cages" policy of the airport and its own unwillingness to go into one.

The only one who didn't seem very excited, contrary to the popular opinion, was Yu.

Meeting Kenta again had lifted his mood a lot, who had explained Benkei's disappearance with his own confusion. Unfortunately, Kenta had been grounded the next day for staying out so late the night before.

Madoka would have done the same to the rest, but for the fear of her sanity and the shop, she let it slide for once. Well, not completely. She _did_ ground their beys.

Hence, Tsubasa was no where to be found that day, probably "on a date with his eagle" as the other three bladers had put it, Gingka had gone to see his dad and Masamune and Yu had said that they were taking a walk around the city.

Said would be the keyword in the latter case.

Yu had walked past the crowded areas of the city, having left Masamune behind a while ago, and entered the warehouses near the ocean. Every part of his body, except for a small, irrational fear, screamed at him to run away, but his brain contradicted.

Reiji would find him sooner or later, and if he didn't show up on time, he'd be in worse trouble. It had happened before, and it hadn't been pretty.

A part of him liked to think that it was natural to be afraid of the person, or more specifically, the bey, that destroyed his partner and made him feel nothing but pure despair, but another part said that it was punishment. Punishment for following Doji blindly, punishment for letting himself be used, punishment for helping nearly cause the destruction of the world.

But there was one thing he didn't regret from that time.

Ryuga.

Heaving a sigh which was lost in the crash of the nearby waves and the rustling of water in the wind, Yu stepped inside. It was dark and a small fear of the dark, long forgotten ever since he moved in with Tsubasa, kicked in.

His ears picked up the sound of a bey spinning and, from the dark, two eyes stared at him intently, a small smirk visible from the small and only ray of light.

Yu froze, his blood running cold as the familiar green snakes charged towards him, baring their fangs and ready to rip him to shreds.

* * *

Madoka sighed, running a last scan on Eagle and Pegasus. Repairing the damage they'd taken from the training and the 'friendly' battles from the day before had gotten to their beys. She placed the two beys in her toolbox, where the two green beys lay unmoving.

Glancing around, her eyes fell on the clock. It was getting late and no one had returned. Well, it wasn't like she minded the silence.

Before she could enjoy it though, the sound of feet stamping on the ground reach her ears and broke the peace. Sighing, she turned to the door, where Gingka and Masamune stood.

"I got here first, so I won," Masamune said.

"What? I was here first, buddy!"

Madoka cleared her throat, making the two turn to her. "You guys are already a week without your beys. Do you want to make it two?"

The two shook their heads rapidly as Tsubasa stepped in. As the rest turned to greet him, he focused on Masamune. "Where's Yu?"

Madoka and Gingka shared a look as the former came into step with them, while Masamune questioned, "He said he was going to find you or something."

Come to think of it, it was kind of hard to remember, but the rest didn't need to know that. He valued his life very much.

Tsubasa frowned. "I haven't seen him all day."

"Do you think he could've gotten into some trouble?" Madoka asked.

The rest shared a look. "This _is_ Yu we're talking about," Gingka commented. "Do you think we should go look for him."

Before any further debates could come up, a small groan broke their chatter. They turned to the doorway, their eyes widening on finding the very person they were talking about.

Yu body was covered in bruises and cuts, his face and clothes caked with dirt and the latter torn from some places. His green eyes were barely open as he leaned against the door.

"Yu!" everyone exclaimed, their eyes widening at the state he was in.

The youngest of the team gave them a small smile. "Guys..." His grip failed him and he would have fell forward if Tsubasa hadn't caught him, his eyes closing.

* * *

A tense silence had settled itself in the B-Pit. Yu had remained unconscious for the entire night and half a day before he woke up. He had had no choice but to explain.

Masamune's hands clenched as he remembered what he'd been told. He glared at the floor of the room Madoka had assigned him.

 _"So, who's this Reiji guy anyways?"_

 _Kenta, Gingka, Madoka and Tsubasa shared a look. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Yu stare intently at the bed sheet._

 _Finally, Gingka spoke. "Masamune, how much attention did you pay to the Battle Bladers, anyway?"_

 _Masamune knew he couldn't classify himself as observant, something Tsubasa repeatedly reminded him. But even so, he couldn't miss the strain in his voice and the tension in his shoulder, as if he was trying to keep his anger under control._

 _"I just watched the finals," he replied. "Why?"_

 _"The Battle Bladers was organized by an organization called the Dark Nebula." It was Tsubasa who spoke. "Reiji was one of their bladers."_

 _Kenta clenched his hand in front of him, continuing, "He's the type of blader who wants nothing but his opponent to suffer. He only battles to crush his opponent. He won't stop until the person battling him isn't even able to pick up a bey again."_

Finally, his frustration got the better of him. Running his hands through his wild hair, Masamune shouted, "That's it!" He got up from the bed and moved towards the door while ranting to himself. "Who does this guy think he is, targeting my friend like that? I'll put him in his place."

He totally wasn't surprised when he saw Gingka and Tsubasa going to do the exact same thing.

* * *

Masamune stared at the ceiling, heaving a sigh of relief. They were leaving to watch the match between the Arabian and the EU team and Madoka had been nagging them sine morning to pack up _and_ make sure they had everything.

If he had to check his bag _one more time_ , he'd go insane!

Hearing the door click, he sat up and turned to the source. Yu was standing at the door, staring at him intently.

"What is it, Yu?"

Contrary to what he expected, Japan's sub looked away for a second before walking in. Okay, something was definitely wrong. There was no way Yu would hesitate normally.

But then again, he didn't exactly know him that well.

"It's just that...well...Thanks." Masamune blinked at him. "Y-You know, for dealing with Reiji."

Okay, having Yu thank him instead of fighting was going to take some getting used to.

Masamune gave him a smile. "Don't mention it. 'Sides, that guy was no match for the Number 1 Blader."

Yu just rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Reiji was lamenting his decision of messing with that impossibly bubbly kid.

* * *

 **Okay, so I tried to make it a bit more serious this time.**

 **And if anyone thinks Yu was OOC, remember that this _is_ an AU. Besides, I like to think that he _must_ have some sort of trauma for what happened. People tend to forget that he's a kid, eight in this story. You terrify an eight year old like that and not have him scared of you. Besides, it makes having them fight their pasts makes bringing them closer.**

 **And as for Reiji taking his revenge on Yu only. Well, he did lose to Gingka and I view him as someone who knows his (and others') limits, the last time he saw the gang Gingka and Kenta were too close for him to attack repeatedly and Hyoma's not exactly around. Besides, seeing as Kenta is slightly older than Yu in this story and not as scared of him as Yu (because he remembers his mistakes and time at the Dark Nebula), Yu's an easier target. And because I see Reiji as someone who can hold grudges. And because I've been wanting to write about the effect of everything on Yu's mind since so many people just make him happy-skippy (is that even a word?) only, which, in my opinion, is a bit one dimensional.**

 **Anyways, as usual, feel free to spot mistakes and give constructive criticism.**

 **See ya next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for sticking by so far. You have no idea how happy your reviews make me and how many times I stare at them a day.**

 **resplandorrosa626:** I'm trying to give those two a stronger bond than they had in the anime. I mean, sure they got along at the end, but the way they fought almost all the time kind of got to me. Yeah, the family feels is something I really wanted out of the series quite a lot as well. But since I didn't get as much as I want, I'll write as many stories about it as I can. I already have a few ideas with Hyoma and Chris and some others. I'm glad you enjoy this story so much. Thanks for the encouragement!

 **.paul:** I'm glad you like it. Come to think of it, I did think something was up with the previous chapter but since I couldn't put my finger on it, I published it. Your review reminded me that I forgot to edit and add more material to it. I'm thinking of rewriting it, but maybe some other time. Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the compliments. They really lifted my mood up quite a lot. The show actually sidetracked the team (aside from Gingka) a bit, which was actually one of the things that motivate me to write this story. So, I'll be giving the characters some more traits while trying to keep them as IC as possible, but the second part could change depending on what I feel like or how many differences this AU will have. Your review wasn't that long, so no worries. Besides, I like long reviews. Reminds me that people actually read my stories.

 **Guest:** Yeah, I've always hated Reiji for hurting Yu. Ever since I was a kid. Come to think of it, I actually used to think about ways to torture him back then too. Let's both go and hunt down our resident snake *grabs a pitchfork*.

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 3: Participation**

Yu narrowed his eyes into a glare at the ceiling as he stared up at it while laying on the bed. He gritted his teeth. It wasn't fair! How come everyone could battle in the World Championships but him? They had all battled in the first round so shouldn't he get a turn in the second round? How could his teammates be so remarkably stupid?! It wasn't _f a i r!_ He was a part of the team too!

He huffed, pulling Libra out of his pocket. "We'll show them," he promised his partner. "We'll show them that we can handle ourselves." Libra gleamed in the light that shone on it through the window, as if to show him that there was always a ray of hope, exactly what his special move reminded him of.

 _"Our next opponents are the Russian team, Team Lovushka. So, how are we gonna do things for the second round?" Madoka asked as her gaze swept over the boys lounging in the hotel room, eyes hardening as if to warn them not to fight over it._

 _Although he was facing the blue eyes that seemed to have frozen into ice, Masamune grinned excitedly. "Easy. I'll wipe the floor with my opponent first and Tsubasa and Gingka can fight the rest."_

 _Green eyes blinked for a few seconds before Yu let his argument known. "But that means I won't get a turn." Everyone turned to him, blinking as if they'd just noticed he was there. What was he, invisible or something? "It's not fair. I'm a part of the team too!" His voice rose with each word and Yu was aware that he sounded like a whiny child but he couldn't bring himself to care._

 _Surely, they acknowledged him as a member, right? Of course, they'd have to be stupid not to. Sure, he may have lost to Masamune in the selection round, but he wasn't weak. He had defeated_ Gingka _once! That had to count for something, right?_

 _Gingka gave him an uneasy smile. "Yeah, but if Masamune and Tsubasa win, it'll be two in a row and we can move on to the finals."_

Yu suddenly became aware of something sharp in his hands and loosened his tight grip on Libra, sighing as he did. Gingka was being an idiot. It wasn't like he couldn't win too. Why couldn't they just have some faith in him?

"Yu?" he heard a familiar voice and immediately sat up as Tsubasa walked into their shared room.

Yu huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you want?" Why couldn't he just leave him alone for a while? He didn't need a babysitter.

Tsubasa crossed his arms as well, raising an eyebrow as he did. "You've been here since morning." Something Yu couldn't pinpoint shifted in his golden eyes and the eight year old actually thought for a second that he was worried. Surely enough, Tsubasa asked, "Are you okay?"

The younger of the two rolled his eyes. As if he needed Tsubasa getting himself all worried about him. That was the problem with grown-ups. They always thought they had to look out for him when he could do fine on his own. "I can take care of myself."

Something in his expression shifted again and gone were all the signs of worry. Tsubasa shrugged and turned back to the door. "Fine by me." His tone was uncaring, but Yu had learned to pick up subtle gestures about him, like the fact that he was frowning the way he always did when he was worried and how his shoulders were tense just a tiny bit.

A small pang of guilt settled in his chest and his stomach twisted uncomfortably. Yu looked away for a second, hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the teen's direction. He hadn't meant to make him feel guilty. Maybe he should apologize... Wait, if Tsubasa wanted to help, he could help him train and prove it to the rest. After all, he had been entirely neutral in the argument, which was more than what he could say for the rest.

Besides, Tsubasa was one of the strongest bladers he knew. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.

"Hey, uh... Tsubasa?" The said teen stopped and turned to him with a triumphant look. He huffed silently to himself at the smug look. "Will you help me train?"

The only reply he received was surprised blinks and a, "What?"

Getting off of the bed, Yu ran up to him and leaned forward as if he was revealing something top secret as he said, "I want to prove that I can handle myself in the World Championships. So, will you?"

"I see." Tsubasa sighed, running a hand through his "perfectly fashionable" hair, as he put it, the same way he did when thinking hard about something. "I have a feeling I'll regret this later, but fine."

"Alright! I know just the place to do it too!"

"I regret it already."

"Shut up!"

* * *

Tsubasa's reaction was, for a lack of better words, boring. As his golden eyes swept over the barren desert near the town which reflected in eyes, he asked, "You want to train here?" He turned to Yu with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Of course," Yu said. Who wouldn't want to train in a desert? "So, time to get this started!" Yu ran ahead, stepping over the sand as fast as he could while calling to Tsubasa. "Hurry up, Tsubasa! I'll leave you behind at this rate!"

Even with how loud he was told he could be, Yu could hear the sand shift as Tsubasa followed, undoubtedly at a slower pace. The silver haired teen, meanwhile, was beginning to reconsider what he was inclined to call his worst decision ever.

And what the heck was with the temperature?!

Tsubasa froze when another thought hit him, time stopping for him momentarily as the ground seemed to move away from under his feet.

The hadn't brought any water to the desert.

It was official.

This was the last time he was ever going to agree to Yu's decision.

* * *

Tsubasa mentally thanked his lucky stars when they met Desert Blaze later that afternoon. The two had nearly passed out from dehydration, because apparently, training was much more important than their health.

He couldn't believe he let himself cave under Yu's puppy-dog eyes. Seriously, if his co-worker agents ever got to know about it, he'd be stripped of whatever dignity he had left. He could withstand the training it took to be a special agent, defy Doji _and_ actually try to taunt Ryuga but couldn't force himself to look at those big, green...innocent...tearful...irresistible eyes? Just what kind of an agent was he?

On another note, the team had confessed that they were there to start training from the scratch after their defeat at the hands of Excalibur. To Tsubasa, all that mattered was the fact that they had the common sense to bring water when going to a freaking desert.

Emptying the bottle given to him to the last gulp, Yu spoke up. "Thanks." He wiped the remnants of the water from his mouth with his sleeve.

"Yeah, thanks," Tsubasa said. Let it not be said that Tsubasa was ungrateful.

"Don't mention it," Karte said, waving it off. Literally, with his hand.

"So," Gasur said, making the two turn to him. "You're working on a new special move?"

Yu nodded. "Uh-huh. Then they'll _have_ to let me battle in the tournament."

Gasur made no comments but closed his eyes, an amused and somewhat nostalgic smile coming to his face "You know, you remind me a lot about my little brother."

"Brother?" Yu repeated, tilting his head.

The leader of Desert Blaze nodded slowly. Behind him, Tsubasa could see his teammates sharing concerned looks. "Yeah. He used to love battling more than anything."

"Used to?" Tsubasa asked.

"He died because of cancer a few years ago." Gasur's expression shifted to remorseful, as if it had somehow been his fault. Then, it was gone, replaced by a smile. "We'll help you with your training."

Yu's face lit up. "Really?"

"Sure." Behind him, his team nodded. "Since we can't face you guys now, we'll just have to help you face the guys who defeated us."

* * *

"Libra! Photon Ray!"

A light green pillar of light, like Inferno Blast, appeared from Libra, only that it was horizontal instead of vertical. As everyone covered their ears to keep then safe from the high pitched humming, it reached Striker faster than lightning and fried the bey before Masamune even had the chance to do something.

Training had taken almost the entire day. Yu had insisted on staying "a few more hours" even after Gasur and the others had left, forcing Tsubasa to agree with his kicked puppy-dog eyes.

Surely, they had to be a weapon of some sort.

It had gotten to the point where their teammates had had to come and look for them. As soon as they had been found, or found the three since Masamune and Gingka seemed to have gotten in another eating competition instead of looking for them, Yu had challenged the two of them. Never one to back from a challenge, Masamune had, true to his hotheaded nature, agreed.

Which lead to the dramatic revealing of Yu's new special move.

At Striker's still form came into view in front of a building - the two hadn't even waited to find a dish - Yu jumped and cheered. "Oh, yeah!" Tsubasa badly wanted to laugh at the others' dumbfounded looks. Hey, he couldn't help it. They were hilarious.

As his eyes wandered over to the celebrating Yu, pride swelled up in his chest. At that particular moment, Yu barely seemed like the crying kid who would come to find him in the middle of the night because of a nightmare about the Dark Nebula or his parents.

When he finally stopped bouncing around, Yu asked with a bright smile. "Now can I battle in the World Championships?" Even when he wasn't using those tearful wide eyes, Yu still managed to make Tsubasa want to nod along any of his request.

Just what had this kid done to him?

It was Madoka who spoke. "I...don't see any reason not to..." Disbelief laced her voice, as if she thought what she'd seen was just a dream.

Yu jumped and pumped his fist in the air. "Alright!"

Believe it or not, Tsubasa was inclined to call him a prodigy.

Not that he'd ever say it out loud.

* * *

 **Okay, so this one came from my frustration about the fact that Yu and Tsubasa _never_ get any upgrades. As for Desert Blaze...well, those guys need some representation too, right?**

 **Anyways, like last time, please point out any mistake you see or any OOC moment and I'll do my best to fix it. And if you do find something OOC, please explain why it seems like that too.**

 **See ya next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**resplandorrosa626:** Yeah, Yu and Tsubasa deserve it, don't they? I really don't like how the two were amazing in Metal Fusion but not so much in Metal Masters. I mean, Yu was one of Dark Nebula's number two in the start, but portrayed as a bit of a pushover in Metal Masters. I've been wanting to write something about Desert Blaze for a while too. I've always been more attached to the side characters of any franchise more than the main for some reason, although there are a few exceptions. As for my other ideas...well, some of them are for this fic while the rest are separate. I have ideas but no real motivation, but hopefully I'll be able to write them soon. I'm glad you enjoy this story so much, since I had my doubts when I first published it.

 **.paul:** Your review made me laugh. I'll keep writing this story until the end of Metal Masters, or maybe even a sequel some other time, so no worries there. I have a few other ideas as well, but it'll probably take a while for me to write them though. I was actually kind of worried that this story has started to be more like a one-shot collection, so thanks. You really relieved my worries about that. Although it will probably be more like a story from this point on.

 **Guest:** Yu's adorable, isn't he? Tsubasa's completely vulnerable against Yu's "lethal weapon". Thanks for the prompt. I was already planning for Hyoma to make an appearance, so it was easy to fit. I'm so pumped about his reappearance that although it will happen later, I've already written a bit of it. That has to be one of the longest chapters of this fic. I think I know just how to have him give the vague reminder too. It'll be fun, having all the rest confused about it.

 **Guest #2:** Come to think of it, I kind of forgot to inform him about that particular battle. Actually, this gave me a good idea, so thanks~

 **Guest #3:** Yu's eyes are just adorable, aren't they? I wish the show had shown more interactions like that between the team. And who doesn't love the relationship between Yu and Tsubasa?

 **Well, that took a while (not that I really mind). You guys really have no idea how happy I was to see (or rather read) all the new names in the comments section. You guys really made my day.**

 **Now, onto the actual chapter.**

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 4: Shenanigans on the Train**

Travelling from one country to another by train meant a lot of sitting and waiting. And, with Gan Gan Galaxy, sitting and waiting led to boredom.

Gingka sighed, deciding that there was nothing interesting outside of the window. Resting his head on his hand, he glanced around the compartment.

Madoka managed to occupy herself with researching on their next opponents, Team...La...Lama...? Ling sausage? Ugh, whatever their name was! Couldn't they have picked an easier one?

Masamune, he was sure, was just as bored as he was, since he had been complaining non-stop after five minutes on the train. Yu had done the same, although he had stopped and occupied himself with gazing outside the window when they reached some height. Gingka didn't get it. Ever since they'd reach some height all there had been was snow, forests and those stupid reindeer. Sure, they had been interesting at first, but who could keep watching reindeer for an entire day.

Then again, _he_ wasn't the one who slept with more than fifteen stuffed animals. Yu really adored animals. He could recall the time he had spent an entire day in the zoo with the rest searching everywhere for him.

Tsubasa was, as he had been for the entire train ride, absorbed in a book he'd been reading on the plane to Arabia as well. Just how long it took to read one book? A much better question, perhaps, would be how he had the stamina to read such a long book. And one with no pictures too.

"Ugh, this is so boring," Masamune repeated the words he'd been saying since the ride had practically began. "When are we going to get there?" He repeatedly stomped on the top bunk of the train with his feet, as if to emphasize exactly how bored he was. Gingka sweat dropped at him.

"We'll get there tomorrow afternoon," Tsubasa said calmly, eyes closed.

Wait, eyes closed? Wasn't he reading? The again, he wouldn't be surprised if he could read with his eyes closed. This _was_ Tsubasa. Gingka had a feeling something was bothering him, but he knew that Tsubasa wouldn't admit it until he had no other option. It was as if he was trying to keep them away from his problems sometimes.

He took way too much responsibility sometimes.

His stomach turned and growled, the sound echoing through the whole compartment and reminding him of his hunger. The rest turned to him and his face heated up. Gingka got up, smiling sheepishly. "I'm going to get something to eat."

Masamune jumped down from the top bunk, creating a loud 'thud' sound as he landed with a crash. "I'm coming too." Gingka wasn't sure if he was ignoring Madoka's chastising look or if he was unaware of it.

Madoka turned back to her laptop, but not before saying, "Don't get into any trouble."

Gingka rolled his eyes. What troubled could they get into by getting something to eat?

"Can I come too?" Yu asked, already standing up. "I want some ice-cream."

Everyone froze at that statement. The last time Yu had had "some" ice-cream and had been locked in a room, which was during a rainy day, he'd gotten so hyper that he nearly destroyed the room. However, they couldn't refuse it to him, or else they would be responsible for a huge tantrum and possible destruction of the train.

And there was also the fact that they had started seeing him as their kid brother and couldn't bring themselves to refusing Yu, with or without his "lethal weapon", as Masamune had dubbed his puppy-dog eyes, and Libra's freakish strength.

Tsubasa finally looked up from his book, sighing. "Alright, but only one." Just because they couldn't refuse didn't mean that they couldn't set limitations.

Yu pouted slightly. "Fine..." Then, he brightened up immediately, grabbed Gingka's wrist and proceeded to drag him. "Let's go, let's go, let's-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gingka cut him off, laughing slightly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Masamune follow with a fond smile, shaking his head.

* * *

"What would you like to order?" the buff bartender asked the three. His tone suggested that he'd rather be anywhere else. Probably not his first career choice.

"Ice-cream!" Yu all but shouted only a second later, his green eyes lighting up like decorations on a Christmas tree.

Gingka gave the man a sheepish smile. "That, and two hamburgers."

As the bartender went to get their orders, Masamune gave Gingka a confident smile, the same one he'd always have when challenging him to pretty much anything. Surely enough, Masamune said, "Betcha I can finish it before you."

Yes, he was aware that it could end up horribly wrong and probably with a huge lecture from the only two mature members of the team, but he wasn't going to back down and let Masamune tease him about it for his entire life.

Gingka gave him a confident smile of his own. "You're on!"

Yu looked at the two of them and sweat dropped. "Oh, boy."

This was not going to end well, that was for sure. Even if it did, he'd tell Tsubasa and Madoka about it. It was funny whenever they lectured someone other than him.

* * *

A few minutes passed and Gingka and Masamune were having a full-on burger eating contest. The two ate as if they'd never eat before while the other's in the bar looked at the two in either amazement or disgust. And Yu...

Yu just ate his ice-cream while swinging his legs under the chair as he watched the two. He had gotten the biggest one he could on the train, which was totally not breaking his word to Tsubasa since he did just get _one_. Tsubasa never said how big it could be.

Gingka and Masamune finished counting how many they'd eaten and declared, "It's a tie!"

As usual.

"Time to break it then," Masamune said. Reaching his hands in his pocket, he realized that they had no more money left.

Normal people would call it a draw and be done with it. However, neither Gingka nor Masamune thought like normal people, especially with their competitive streaks. So, the green clad blader whipped out his bey and launcher. Yu sweat dropped. It was like beyblade was the only way to solve any problem.

Well, at least he had his ice-cream and a show to enjoy it with.

Pulling out his own gear, Gingka responded with a, "You're on!"

And so, the two were battling in the snack area. Yu didn't move and kept watching the battle while the other occupants immediately got out of their way. It would probably end in a tie again. Most things did with those two.

After numerous clashes, Pegasus finally sent Striker flying...right into Yu's ice-cream, making the orange haired boy drop it. Yu stared for a while as Gingka and Masamune froze, realizing what they had done.

After all, no one, not even Tsubasa, ever got away with interrupting Yu's ice-cream time. It was the reason everyone acted like perfect gentlemen - and women for Madoka and Hikaru- around him whenever he had some ice-cream.

He was so not letting them get away with it,

A black cloud appeared over Yu's head and although his eyes were covered by his bangs, the two could still feel the glare they were surely getting. In one quick motion, Yu launched Libra and used Photon Ray, effectively ending the battle and destroying what remained of the cafeteria.

The dust cleared and Striker and Pegasus had stopped spinning, right in front of the newly launched Libra. Yu gave the two one last glare as Libra returned to his outstretched palm. As the three prepared to leave, they looked around and took in the damage the battle had done.

It was official. Teammates or not, Tsubasa and Madoka were going to murder them.

"I think we're in trouble," Yu commented, as if he hadn't caused most of it and had just noticed.

* * *

Gan Gan Galaxy was dropped at the next station and banned from entering any train from that transport service. The WBBA covered the cost of the destruction, but not without huge lectures on irresponsibility from both Hikaru and Ryo separately. The three had also gotten an earful from Madoka and Tsubasa.

Yu just wished he had his ice-cream back.

* * *

 **Moral: Never let Gan Gan Galaxy get bored and never ever, not even by mistake, let Masamune, Gingka and Yu go off on their own, even if it _is_ just to get some food.**

 **So, the team never met Team Lovushka and Masamune never got lost. As usual, point our any mistake, any OOC moment and explain.**

 **See ya next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**resplandorrosa626:** Thanks. When I wrote the previous chapter, that was the thing on my mind, and then I started thinking about why it didn't happen. I hope you enjoy the this one as well.

 **Guest:** Yeah, even Rago would run after ruining Yu's ice-cream. Actually, I've started thinking of a crack-fic where Yu finds a magical ice-cream in the temple and Rago ruins it, making Yu mad beyond belief. That way, the Legendary Bladers aren't even needed.

 **Guest #2:** You can imagine Madoka's reaction as yelling in the middle of the station, making everyone think that she's crazy and a few bruises for the three. You have a point though, ice-cream is definitely off limits.

 **Guest #3:** What I meant was that he didn't regret idolizing Ryuga and trying to befriend him. This will be elaborated in the fic, so don't worry. I have a few head canons I will use in this story and those will shape a part of Ryuga's AU personality, but I'll still try to keep him as close to canon as possible. Ryuga will be appearing in this fic way more than the original Metal Masters and a lot earlier as well, so no worries there. In fact, he'll be appearing sooner than even I realized.

 **Guest #4:** Hahaha, I know, right? It's a bit of a head canon of mine, since they never really showed him eating any chocolate in the anime.

 **Guest #5:** Definitely *wink*.

 **Guest #6:** I know, right? But that also makes him a bit hard to write (at least, for me) since he's supposed to be a typical child but also a genius and not just any other eight year old. Then again, all of the characters are hard for me to write because I tend to overthink their actions and also because their traits are pretty well-blended. For example, Gingka's a goofball but also very knowledgeable (at least, about somethings), Masamune is over-confident, but (in my opinion) has a bit of an inferiority complex, and so on. Still, that's what makes them all so likable. Okay, I'm rambling now, aren't I?

 **Now, onto the chapter.**

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 5: The Russian Battle Begins**

Yu and Gingka sweat dropped, their eyes flat as a board as they watched Madoka discuss some super science-y stuff with one of the Russian bladers, Aleksei.

After finally reaching Russia, thankfully, without any further incidents, the team had been welcomed by the Russian team, whose name could now finally be pronounced correctly by the three involved in the train incident. They were nice enough, if you looked past Aleksei's weirdness and Lera's hotheadedness.

Tsubasa seemed to be in a conversation with Nowaguma, a tall blader that reminded Yu of a bear until he actually got to know him. Then, he was about as scary as Osuma.

"What was that?!" the final member of the Russian team, a girl with no problems in voicing her opinions, shouted at the unicorn blader of Gan Gan Galaxy.

"You heard me!" Masamune shot back, equally fierce.

Masamune and Lera had hit off the wrong way at first glance, a stark contrast from Madoka and Aleksei's immediate friendship. The way those two argued about the littlest things reminded Yu about Gingky and Masamune's fights.

Yu tugged on the sleeve of the redhead's coat, making him turned to him. He made a 'come closer' motion and Gingky leaned towards him, lowering his head as he did. Standing on his toes, Yu whispered in his ear, "When's the wedding?"

Gingky gave him a blank look. "Which one?" he asked, pointing to both the pairs' directions with each hand. Suddenly, he shuddered. "Let's not have their wedding," he said, nodding to the arguing teens. "One Masamune is enough for a lifetime."

Yu thought about it and shuddered as well. They'd never be able to stay sane. "Good point."

Tsubasa walked towards them, looking curious. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, we're just planning their wedding," Yu said, smiling brightly.

Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be talking like that?"

Yu tilted his head. He didn't really get what was wrong with that. "So? My classmates talk like that all the time."

Tsubasa sighed, massaging his forehead. He looked like the conversation wasn't going his way. "Don't listen to them then." Weird.

Oh well, who cared? Maybe he could get some ice-cream for lunch.

* * *

"Good luck, Masamune," Yu said as the said blader made his way to the stadium. The second round would have been him against that Aleksei guy and finally Tsubasa versus Mr. Giant.

 _"Why can't I battle?"_ _Gingky asked after Madoka decided their order._

 _Madoka gave him a glare, the same one everyone on Gan Gan Galaxy feared. It was the look she had when she would confiscate their beys if they didn't listen. "Because Pegasus still hasn't been repaired after that train incident."_

 _"But-"_

 _"No buts, young man," Madoka said in her 'and-that's-the-final-word' tone. No one dared to refuse that tone. No one wanted to face the consequences of defying that tone._

 _Knowing exactly what that tone meant, Gingky sighed. "Fine..."_

 _Yu actually felt a bit bad for him. He knew better than anyone what it felt like to be unable to battle when you're raring to go. So, the Libra blader gave him a smile. "No worries, Gingky. We'll win for you."_

 _"Of course," Masamune said, grinning from ear to ear. "The Russians won't know what hit 'em."_

 _A small smile made its way to the redhead's face. "Thanks, guys."_

On the stage, Masamune was met with boos from the crowd. He glared at the people at the stands. "I hate it when they do that." Then, he looked at his opponent and gave a confident smile. "They'll be singing a different tune soon enough."

From the Russian team, the girl, Lera, stepped forward. In a matter of seconds, the booing turned into loud cheering.

Yu covered his ears. The noise Libra's special moves created couldn't even rattle him but cheering from a crowd could? This was ridiculous.

"They're so loud!" he shouted.

"It's the same with every home crowd, Yu," Madoka said, but even she was covering her ear with her free hand, her laptop in the other.

Masamune turned to them and shouted, "It'll take more than a little cheering to get me down!" And with that, he turned back to the stage.

The dish appeared for underground. It was all fine and dandy, except for one thing. It was covered with sand in the middle.

"Huh? What's with the sand?" Masamune wondered out loud.

Pulling out her launcher, Lera spoke up. "What's the matter? Scared? It's not too lat to back down, you know."

Masamune pulled out his own gear. "You wish!"

"Time to get this party started!" the DJ spoke up. "3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Striker and Lera's bey spun right at each other, colliding in the center and creating sparks as each tried to push the other back. Contrary to what the Japanese team expected, Striker was being slowly pushed back.

"What's going on?" Masamune asked, eyes widening.

Lera just smirked. "Deserts _are_ a scorpion's home. Don't you know anything?"

From her bey, a pinkish scorpion appeared, hitting the green bey repeatedly with its tail.

Cupping his mouth and leaning forward sightly, Gingka shouted, "Get away from the sand, Masamune!"

"Lera's Scorpio isn't giving Striker a chance to move," Madoka replied. "Besides, Striker can't move very well on the sand either."

Masamune let out a frustrated growl. "Time to kick this up a notch." Throwing his arm to a side, he called, "Go, Striker!"

Striker charged towards the now unmoving Scorpio, which was spinning at the center, at full speed, ready to tear through anything in its way.

From the corner of his eyes, Yu saw Tsubasa frown, watching the battle with his arms crossed. "Striker is moving slower than usual."

"It's the sand," Madoka said. "Since sand is looser than earth, Striker can't get enough friction for it to move!"

And yet, the idiot was charging right in it. "Masamune! Don't go into the sand!" Yu shouted.

Masamune half-turned and shouted back, "How else am I supposed to attack?!"

He had a point, but Yu wasn't going to admit it. So instead, he responded with a, "How should _I_ know?!" What was he, a machine?

"Fighting your teammate might not be a good thing right now." Masamune turned to a smirking Lera. "Shouldn't you be focusing on the battle?"

Masamune turned around and Yu was sure he was glaring at her. "Shouldn't you keep your mouth shut? Striker! Lightning Sword Flash!"

A green unicorn burst out from the bey and galloped forward. Purple lightning bolts appeared out of its horn as it charged forward. The attack hit Scorpio, sending the bey flying. Yu's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

Meanwhile, Scorpio landed outside the sand but far from the edge, not seeming the least bit bothered by the attack. How was it not affected?

As Masamune, along with the rest, gaped, Madoka explained, "It's because of the sand. Striker can't build up speed for its special move."

"This stinks!" Masamune exclaimed loudly, apparently not caring about who heard him.

Lera smirked smugly. "What happened to all your tough talk, Hotshot?" Masamune glared at her. "Anyways, it's my turn now. Scorpio! Special move! Acid Needle!"

Wind circulated around Scorpio into a small tornado which didn't do much. However, some of the wind went over the surface like ripples of water as the ground began to tremble. The scorpion appeared again and the wind started circulating around the needle on the tip of its tail, making it look like a drill. Then, a beam escaped from the drill, hitting Striker directly, sending it flying.

"Striker!"

Lera smirked. "So, how do like that?"

Her smirk vanished when Masamune gave her a smile. Yu tilted his head to a side. Why was Masamune smiling when Striker was about to get a stadium out? "Just what I wanted! Special move! Lightning Sword Flash!"

What?

Striker galloped downward from the sky, its horn lightning up. If you removed the horn and attach wings and you could mistake it for a Pegasus instead. The attack hit the pink bey right on the Face Bolt.

Striker took Scorpio's place on the stadium while the other was sent flying once more, right out of the stadium this time. Lera stared in disbelief while Masamune recalled his bey, the smile never leaving his face.

"I can't believe I lost..." she mumbled, frustration evident in her voice.

"You're good," Masamune commented, making the girl turn to him. Yu blinked. Was Masamune actually complimenting her? "But not good enough to face the Number One Blader."

He rolled his eyes. Of course. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Tsubasa face palm.

Lera stared at him for a second but then glared. Pointing at him, she shouted, "Things will be different next time, got it?!"

Masamune smiled confidently. "I'll be waiting for it, Lera." It was the first time he'd called her by her name and not some taunting nickname. Yu wasn't sure whether he was surprised or not.

They shook hands, each giving the other a smile, while the crowd cheered at the show of sportsmanship. Then, they made their ways to their teams.

"Looks like Masamune has a new rival," Gingka commented.

"Yeah," Madoka agreed. "And one that can actually match his hotheaded personality."

Yu wondered if his round would be like that. Maybe he would get a stadium with water surrounding it. Or one with bars around it. "I can't wait for my turn!"

Why couldn't morning come sooner?

* * *

 **Yeah, not my most exciting chapter, but whatever. There just wasn't enough information on Lera, so I hope the battle's believable. Looking back at the show, I couldn't help but realize that Gingka's the only one who has never missed out on any rounds, so I decided to have him sit this one out since it's really unfair to the rest. Another thing I found unfair and will be changing is the fact that Gingka is called the Number One Blader when the entire team won.**

 **The reason I referred to Gingka by his nickname is because this is written from Yu's point of view, so he'd definitely be calling him by his nickname in his thoughts.**

 **Anyways, Yu's battle is next and the next chapter will definitely be longer than this one.**

 **See ya next time.**

 **P.S:** **I was wondering if I should cover the movie in this story or make a separate one for it. Comment your thoughts.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the long wait, guys. I've been super busy now that school's back on and I've been working on some new stories (read my profile if you're curious). On another note, I'm really glad I received all the reviews I did. Seriously guys, thanks for taking the time to read this story.**

 **Guest #1:** You have a good point. He's eight in this story but while re-watching the series, I saw that he's actually a bit taller than Kenta. I think people do it because he acts like a child. That, and he's cute.

 **Guest #2:** I'll do one for sure now, even if it takes a while. Of course, that will be after this one's finished.

 **resplandorrosa626:** I've had that in mind, the two being rivals and all. The Russian arc's awesome, that's for sure. You know, the first time I noticed Tsubasa reading with his eyes closed, I was like, "How could I have missed it?" I'm glad the battle seemed realistic and something that could have actually happened since I had my doubts about it. It has made me a bit more confident about my future plans, so thanks for that.

 **Guest #3:** Her reaction would be interesting, but the Russian team already know there secrets and that's why they designed the stadium for him specifically, remember?

 **Guest #4:** It's just friendship and rivalry for now, but maybe in the sequel, if I ever make it there, I might add some elements of romance. I'm not too comfortable writing the genre so I try to avoid doing it. You have a point though, it really _is_ a scary thought. Now I know what else to work on, I guess.

 **Guest #5:** I'll try to do that. After all, the team still needs their fair share of fights.

 **Guest** **#6:** Haha, sure. Let's go there right now.

 **Guest #7:** Read and find out.

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 6: Yu's First Championship Battle**

"You ready for your battle, buddy?" Gingka asked Yu in the waiting room.

Yu beamed at him, his green eyes lighting up like the lights on a Christmas tree. "Yup," he practically chirped. "I can't wait to send 'em flying. I won't let you guys down, I promise."

Ever since the morning, Yu had been more excited than Gingka had ever seen him. Heck, he'd gotten up earlier than Tsubasa and _that_ was saying something. Of course, this meant that the rest of the team had to be up early too. Honestly, being that chirpy so early in the morning _had_ to be illegal.

Tsubasa got up from his seat, drawing everyone's attention to him. He had always had the ability to get attention just by moving slightly. "It's time."

* * *

"From our team Lovushka, it's the team leader, Aleksei!" the DJ announced as the brunet made his way to the stadium. As the crowd cheered, the DJ continued, "He's an astronaut who's known to be a genius!"

Next to him, Gingka could almost feel Yu tense. Despite what he might say, the nervousness had started getting to him. "This guy's a genius?"

Well, it wasn't like Yu wasn't one. "We have a pretty smart blader on our team too," Gingka said.

Yu turned to him, his green eyes brimming with curiosity. "Who's that?"

Gingka sweat dropped, closing his eyes with a sheepish grin. Or not.

"The representative from Japan is Yu!" the DJ announced as the screen showed Yu's image.

The said blader ran to the stadium, all earlier doubts forgotten. "That's my name!"

Gingka couldn't help but smile, some fondness creeping in. Yu was such a little kid.

"Yu is Gan Gan Galaxy's sub member!" the DJ informed. "After winning the first round, are they trying to make fun of our home team?"

Making fun? Were they underestimating Yu just because he was a kid and a sub? Well, they'd soon eat their words if that was the case.

As the blader came to a stop in front of the soon-to-be-revealed dish, the crowd started booing at him, making the Libra blader look around in bewilderment. Madoka took a glance at the crowd. "They're setting him up as a bad guy."

Well, at least now he'd know how tough the world level was. Holding his hands around his mouth, Gingka shouted, "Now do you get how tough it is to play at the World Championship level?"

Yu turned around to face him and, while waving his arms around as if to prove his point, he shouted back, "No, I don't get it! Nothing's happened yet!"

The center of the stadium opened, revealing a purple dish. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it, unlike the previous battle. Gingka tilted his head. "Big deal. That's standard."

"It looks normal to me," Madoka said.

Yu ran up to the dish. "Aw, I was hoping for something cooler, like Masamune's battle," he whined. "This is so stinky!"

His opponent just smiled. "After hearing that, I'm a bit relieved, so thanks."

"For what?"

Aleksei's smile widened for some reason. "Because I don't think you'll be disappointed."

The two bladers launched their beys, which clashed with each other at the center of the dish. Neither of them budged, something Gingka thought was impressive. With Tsubasa's freakish training, Libra's strength had risen quite a lot. Then again, so had everyone else's

"Wolf is a Balance type, with both offensive and defensive skills," Tsubasa said.

Gingka remembered the way it had been introduced. Turning to the mechanic, he asked, "Madoka, what does space edition mean?"

The girl tilted her head. "Aleksei did say they were using beys in space research, but how, I don't know."

"Who cares?" Masamune said. Leaning forward, he shouted, "Send him flying, Yu!"

Yu turned his head around to face him. "I will!" Turning back to the stadium, he shouted, "Go now, Libra!"

The two beys collided at the center repeatedly and sparks flew around them. Watching the battle closely, Aleksei said, "I calculated the level of attack and the inertial energy as well." He smiled confidently. "And it matches my calculations perfectly."

"What does?" Yu asked.

"Libra's attack power."

Yu looked offended at that. "A bunch of mumbo-jumbo." Holding out his arm to a side, Yu said, "Libra! Sonic Wave!"

The usual green wave emerged from Libra, but as soon as it got near Wolf, it vanished. Gingka gaped and he was sure the rest were doing the same. What had just happened? "What's going on, Yu?"

Yu turned to face him. "I just made a little mistake, okay! Relax!" He turned back to the stadium but Gingka was far from convinced. Using his special move was next to second nature to Yu, that much he could say. Making a mistake just wasn't like him.

"One more time! Libra! Sonic Wave!"

Three more waves erupted and, just like the one before them, disappeared before they could even touch Wolf.

"Wha-What's going on?" Yu wondered out loud, panic laced in his voice.

Gingka frowned. He was sure something was wrong.

"Go now, Wolf!"

As ordered, the red bey attacked Libra. Caught off guard, Libra was sent flying but fortunately managed to hand on to the edge of the stadium.

"What's going on, Yu?" Masamune asked. Was Yu really that nervous?

"Take it easy out there!" Madoka said.

"Just take a deep breath and relax!" Gingka shouted.

Yu turned to them and glared, frustration clear as crystal in his eyes. "I don't need a deep breath! Just quit bugging me!" And with that, he turned back to the stadium.

Wolf and Libra clashed repeatedly as the former attacked the latter. Yu made no order for Libra's next move and just stood there, obviously thinking things through.

"This has turned into a one-sided battle!" the DJ announced. "Will Yu fall to the great Wolf without even fighting back?"

"Get a grip, Yu!" Masamune called.

"Alright, no more fooling around!" Yu declared. "Libra, let's see your full power." Libra knocked the bey to a side with just one hit. Raising a hand, Yu said, "Alright, special move!" The team covered their ears just seconds before a vertical pillar of light erupted from the center of the stadium. "Libra, Inferno Blast!" Just as soon as he'd finished that sentence, the pillar faded and eventually disappeared.

Gingka gaped. "Yu's special move disappeared," he said, wondering if this was just a dream. There was no way Yu would make a mistake with his second strongest special move.

"What's going on?" Yu asked no one in particular. Even though he wasn't facing him, Gingka could imagine his shocked expression.

"This is going on," Aleksei said. "Now it's my turn! Special move!" Gingka barely understood what name he called his special move. Honestly, what was with this team and their difficult names? How did they even remember them?

Wolf glowed red for a few seconds and suddenly moved upwards until it was floating in front of its blader.

"No way!" Yu said.

"Amazing," Gingka said. Even if it was against them, a floating bey wasn't something you saw everything.

"Whoa," Masamune breathed.

"It's flying!" the DJ reported. "Wolf is actually flying through the air." He spread out his arms and made a flying motion. "It's like a Wolf with wings."

As they gaped, Tsubasa said, "It's not flying. It's just floating in the air."

"But how?" Masamune asked as Madoka pulled out her laptop.

"This is the power of the Space Edition Wolf," Aleksei said.

"That's it?" Yu asked, grinning all of a sudden. "I know what's going on!"

Aleksei gasped. "You know already?" Gingka narrowed his eyes. Was there something they should have known? Or maybe that training with Tsubasa about using your senses and staying vigilant were getting to him.

Pointing at him, Yu declared, "You're psychic!" Gingka face palmed and, from the corner of his eyes, saw Tsubasa do the same thing while Madoka and Masamune anime-fell. Yu really _was_ a kid. Meanwhile, Yu continued with his 'explanation'. "You're making the bey float with you're mind, aren't you?"

Bewildered, Aleksei shook his head rapidly. "That's not it. It's just science."

Holding his arms akimbo, Yu tilted his head. "What science?"

"According to the assembled data, you've defeated most of your opponents with your special move. However, the data also shows that because you rely too much on your special moves, if they're broken through, Libra is just a normal Stamina type. Which means that it's no threat to me or my Wolf."

Yu glared at him. "Don't shortchange me or Libra!"

Libra circled around the stadium and, using the edge, launched itself at Wolf in midair. However, the red bey moved and dodged the attack. Libra attacked again and again, producing the same result.

As it went on, Gingka's eyes narrowed further. Yu was letting his frustration get the better of him and that could cost him the match. After all, as Tsubasa kept reminding them, keeping your emotions under control during a battle was the key to winning.

"Libra, Photon Ray!"

Just like the other moves, Photon Ray disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"What's going on out there?" Gingka asked.

The clicking of the keys of Madoka's laptop reached his ears. "There _is_ a way to make sure that Libra's special move is ineffective," Madoka said. "It's by releasing wave interference."

"Wave interference?" Masamune repeated.

The brunette nodded. "Yes, but there're no signs of any wave interference being released by Wolf, so what could it be?"

They watched as Libra continued its reckless attacks as Yu shouted, "This is boring! Don't just run, battle!"

Suddenly, Madoka gasped. "Could it be?" She pulled out a device and pointed it to the stadium. As the thing made some sounds, the brunette turned to her laptop. "Wave interference _is_ being released!" She turned to the bladers fighting. "Aleksei!" The scientist looked surprised at being called so suddenly. "Just what is with this stadium?!"

"Wait, what do you mean?" he asked, seeming all innocent.

"Don't play innocent with me!" Madoka snapped. "There's strong wave energy coming from the stadium and you know it!"

So _that_ was why he was feeling so uneasy this entire time.

"Say what?!" Masamune exclaimed.

"Aha! You're a cheat!" Yu declared. "A cheat, a cheat, a cheat!"

Aleksei closed his eyes. "I can't fool you, can I, Madoka? Things are just as you have guessed."

"Then fix it." Crap, Madoka was using her 'and-that's-the-final-word' tone.

Unfortunately, Aleksei didn't know the meaning behind that tone. Opening his eyes, he said, "I must do what I can to win."

"Ugh!" Yu groaned, turning everyone's attention to him. "This battle is no fun! No fun at all! I'm getting really cranky!"

Great, Yu was letting his frustration cloud his judgement, as Tsubasa would put it. It was time someone told him what battling on the world stage was about.

Fighting to keep his own anger down, Gingka said, "Calm down, Yu. So the stadium is rigged with some sort of gadget. You just have to find your way out of it, okay?" Mentally, he was begging him not to ask how.

"How do I that?" Crap.

This time, he didn't hold back his anger. "How am I supposed to know that?! Just figure it out!"

Yu growled which, in hindsight, sounded more cute than anything. "Gingky, you're really bugging me!"

"Maybe so, but you can do it! You're a bey genius after all!" Yu stared at him, completely taken aback. "The first time I battled you, I knew it. There are geniuses out there, and you're one of them."

A smile made it's way on his face. "Gingky..."

"But that's not enough. You've got to make an effort!" His voice raised with each word once more.

"Gingky..." Did he get it? Did he manage to get through to him? "What's 'effort'?"

They anime-fell. Yup, all of them. Maybe Yu wasn't such a genius after all.

"This is hard to believe," Tsubasa said.

"It is pretty difficult to deal with a genius," Madoka added.

"But I understand." They all turned to him hopefully. He gave them a confident look, back to his usual upbeat personality. "A scientific genius is no match for a bey genius, isn't that right?"

"I'm sorry, but the possibility of you winning is zero," Aleksei said. Yu turned around to face him as he continued, "The scientific data proves that beyond a doubt."

Instead of getting mad like before, Yu grinned at him. "What about the bey spirit? Can you measure the bey spirit with science?" Aleksei looked at him with wide eyes, but Yu had already turned to his bey. "Libra!"

Libra raised its elevation using the edge again, but unlike before, it went to the sky like Pegasus did when using it's special move. Then, it crashed down like a meteorite. Wolf dodged the attack once more but Libra slammed on the stadium, creating a huge crater.

As if that had been his aim from the start, Yu said, "Again!" He laughed to himself. "I've got a real fun idea."

Libra smashed into the ground repeatedly, so much that its craters had started to overlap with each other. At first, it didn't seem to do much, but then Wolf started wobbling in the air and lowered gradually.

"I get it!" Madoka exclaimed and, as usual, the others turned to her for an explanation. "Libra wore out the stadium so the wave energy is disturbed. Wolf can't remain stable!"

It seemed that Aleksei had reached the same conclusion. "Emergency landing, Wolf!"

As Wolf slowly but steadily retreated to the ground, Libra came and smashed into it, sending the bey flying out of the stadium.

And that's how Gan Gan Galaxy won the second round.

* * *

 **Yeah, this episode wasn't much different, but seeing as I have been making almost everything different, some things will have to stay the same for a while. If anyone's wondering, Lovushka got the team's data during their stay instead.**


	7. Chapter 7

**.paul:** Thanks. The one thing I've always hated about the anime is that they've seriously centered one main character only. Most of the rest have little to no character development, especially on screen. I haven't really watched Shogun Steel yet, but I still have some ideas about how Yu and the rest would have turned out. Your review actually gave me an idea of a bunch of one-shots where Zyro and the rest find out how crazy their older generation was. I can write them if you wish, but it'll take time, especially since I can't find the Shogun Steel episodes anymore.

 **resplandorrosa626:** I'm glad you liked it. Yu's a genius alright and he'll get his turn a lot more than in the anime. I'm also planning an AU one-shot about him being a genius and leaving the other teams baffled. By the way, thanks for reviewing on Eyes and Lies.

 **Guest:** He will, don't worry. That's actually a good idea and the exact thing I needed to get out of my growing writer's block.

 **QueensKhioneandFernis:** I'm glad you like it so much. Playing around with Gan Gan Galaxy's relations is really funny, especially since I'm writing a chapter where Yu gets lost and Masamune freaks out while trying to find him in a press conference. Not sure if I will keep it or not though. That ones actually one of my favorites too. I've never exactly been a comedian, but their crazy personalities are extremely easy to play with. Tsubasa and Yu definitely need more fics. There will never be enough, no matter how many there are.

 **Guest #2:** Haha, good point. Doubt they'll ever let that happen again.

 **Guest #3:** Honestly, that was my inspiration for the scene. I used to keep re-watching the episode just to watch that one scene.

 **CdETB** , **e9zH5** and **1hiWG** :I'm assuming you guys said that this is a very nice story. If you did, thanks. I'm glad you guys like it so much.

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 7: Koma Village**

"Are we there yet?" Masamune asked. The others would have replied, had it not been the who-knows-how-much time. Instead, they simply sighed.

"It's just a little further," Gingka said, not looking back or stopping as he lead the group through the forest. Madoka rolled her eyes, remembering when Hyoma kept saying the same thing to her, Kenta, Benkei and Kyoya on their first visit.

She could hear Masamune grumble at the same response he had been receiving since he started asking.

Gan Gan Galaxy had returned to Japan for a while after the second round, meeting up with Kenta once more. Gingka had been acting down and when the rest kept bugging him about it, he admitted being a bit homesick. So, the six decided to take a trip to Koma Village during their stay.

"When will we get there?" Yu asked. "My feet hurt!"

"We're almost there," Gingka replied, coming to a stop in front of a waterfall. The waterfall broke into a river with some boulders at the riverbank.

The rest stared at the running water, dumbfounded. Looking around, the place seemed familiar to Madoka. Had she been there before? She'd only been to Koma twice and never remembered being at this place. Maybe they'd passed it on their way. Madoka racked her brain for anything. Then, it clicked.

It was the same place they'd stopped for a rest in their first visit.

A hand obscured her vision and Madoka blinked in surprise as it waved in front of her. The hand was retracted, revealing Gingka and the rest staring at her. "You okay, Madoka? You spaced out."

Still blinking, Madoka replied, "It's nothing."

Behind them, one of the boulders seemed to have been moved, for it was not in its previous place, revealing some stairs going underground. Gingka turned and started climbing down. "Well then, let's go."

"Aw, more walking?" Yu whined.

Kenta piped up, "Hey, Gingka?" When the blader in question turned his attention to him, he continued, "How come we never used this entrance before?"

The redhead shrugged. "It's closer, but Hyoma doesn't really like closed places."

* * *

Once in the village, the six were greeted by Hokuto, Hyoma and some of Gingka's other friends. The dog - because he was one no matter what he said - had given the redhead an earful about letting strangers, aka Masamune, in the village with the only thing to calm him down was Masamune's promise of never ever not even by mistake letting anything about the village slip.

Gingka and Hyoma would have shown the others around, since it was Yu and Tsubasa's first time there as well, but after some whining and a tantrum from Yu, they agreed to let them rest for a while as the two childhood friends caught up.

Watching Masamune and Yu being scolded by Madoka for having petty quarrels, Gingka chuckled quietly to himself. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a small, nostalgic smile bloom on Hyoma's face, no doubt remembering the time they'd be scolded like that as children.

"Ryuga's back at the village," Hyoma said suddenly, making the redhead turn to him. "The villager's weren't very forgiving, especially with how he's always been. His father's reputation didn't exactly help either."

Gingka snorted. "Of course. So, where is he?"

"Where do you think?"

"The volcano?"

"Yup."

It wasn't common knowledge - then again, nothing was when it came to the bearer of L-Drago - but Ryuga was an original resident of Koma Village. His mother had been killed by his psycho father who left he village the same night. The three actually used to be good friends as children.

 _"You should smile more, Ryu," Gingka said, watching Ryuga scowl at Hyoma as Aries returned in his hand from the other side of the river._

 _"I don't smile, Hagane." Gingka opened his mouth but Ryuga beat him to it. "And I'm not friendly." Cue a deeper scowl_

 _Hyoma turned back to them, shooting Ryuga a smug smile. It wasn't everyday the redheaded kid - his hair had been completely red back then - was beaten at something, so whenever he was, the other two made sure to rub it in. "Your turn, Ryu."_

 _Ryuga glared at him before taking out his light blue bey. As he took his position, Hyoma leaned over to Gingka. "He'll fail again. Wanna make a bet?"_

 _The redhead shook his head, laughing. "No, thanks. I don't wanna make a bet I've already lost."_

 _"I can hear you two!"_

 _The two laughed and after a few seconds, even Ryuga joined in._

A wave of nostalgia hit Gingka along with the memories. They had all been so carefree back then. They were completely different now, especially Ryuga, but even so, the now dual haired teen made sure to give them strange cryptic hint about where he was and how he was. Usually, he did it with Hyoma, probably because Gingka was almost always surrounded by his friends. Crowds _had_ always made him uncomfortable.

"Remembering the good old times?" Hyoma asked.

"Nah, I'm just remembering what Ryuga's hair looked like when it was completely red," Gingka replied, making the other laugh.

It was hard to imagine Ryuga with completely red hair again, especially with his current hairstyle. He always ended up remembering the time when he had dared Hyoma to set his hair on fire.

The two had barely made it out alive.

* * *

After some rest, the group had left for the forest, now accompanied by Hyoma. The lilac haired teen had given someone else the task of protecting the borders of the village for once, probably to spend as much time with Gingka as he could before the redhead had to leave again.

The Pegasus wielder's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought. Sometimes, he wondered about his decision of leaving the village. Did Hyoma get lonely around there? He used to have a hard time making friends when they were little - although not as much as their resident volcano lover - since most people around the village couldn't ever tell if he was being sincere or not. He hadn't exactly thought about his feelings when he left, his mind too occupied with Ryuga's completely different demeanor and his father's "death".

At the sound of his name, Gingka jumped and turned his head to his left, blinking. Masamune gave him a look. The rest walked ahead of them, Yu practically running as he dragged Kenta and Tsubasa with him. "You okay? I've called you five times and you only responded now."

"I-It's nothing," Gingka replied. "Just thinking."

"Wanna talk about it?"

The redhead shook his head, smiling. "Nah, it's fine."

Their conversation was cut short by Yu's shout of, "Awesome!" They turned ahead and saw a river with a series of boulders connecting one side to the other.

"I remember this place!" Kenta exclaimed, before turning to Yu. "Watch." He dug through his pocket for Sagittario and once he found it, he got in position to launch while facing the river.

"What are you doing?" Yu asked. Next to him, Tsubasa watched the young blader closely.

"Move you left foot a bit," Hyoma instructed from where he stood behind the three along with Madoka as the two caught up.

"What's he doing?" Masamune asked as Kenta did as instructed.

A sly smile appeared on Gingka's face. "Watch."

 _"Watch," a much younger Gingka said as the redheaded Ryuga stood next to him with his arms crossed as they watched Hyoma get in position to launch at the riverbank._

 _"Let it rip!"_

 _Aries sailed through the air and landed on one of the closer boulders. Ryuga raised an unimpressed eyebrow. His expression changed, however, when Aries started jumping from rock to rock, right to the other side._

 _Gingka turned back to him. "See? That was awesome!"_

 _Ryuga smirked confidently. "Bet I can do that."_

 _Sure, Ryuga could do a lot of things right at first try or get good at them after one or two more, but there was no way he could do that. Even Gingka had trouble with it, unlike Hyoma who had taken to it as though Aries was made for it._

 _"You're on!"_

 _All three of them had been surprised when Gingka won the bet._

Gingka blinked rapidly, suddenly remembering something. He hadn't gotten any money for the bet! That meant that Ryuga owed him something.

The four watched as Yu, Tsubasa and Masamune tried "Bey Crossing", Tsubasa taking much pleasure in teasing the younger two good-naturedly whenever they failed.

Gingka had definitely needed this trip.

* * *

Hyoma stared up at the starry sky. It was something he did often. It helped him calm down when he was upset and had become a sort of a habit. He closed his eyes, taking in the sound of the crickets and other animals in until some footsteps joined in.

"Hyoma?" he heard Yu say just as he turned around.

He smiled, patting on the grass next to him. Yu took the non-verbal invitation and took a seat. His eyes lit up when he saw the star-filled sky. "Whoa..."

Hyoma chuckled. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Yu nodded to his words. "I've never seen so many in one place!"

That's what pollution did. It was one of the things Hyoma loved about the place. The place was clean. Maybe that's why he used to be called a clean-freak by Ryuga and Gingka.

He turned his attention to the kid who was still looking around, wide-eyed. Gingka was right; Yu really was a kid. "So, why are you still up? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Yu turned to him for a moment, and then turned his gaze to the lake in front of them. "I guess." His voice low and soft, a stark contrast from his usual enthusiasm.

Hyoma frowned, his internal alarms blaring. Whenever any of the kids around the town used that type of tone, something was up. He racked his brain for anything that could have happened. Yu had been completely fine before going to sleep, so maybe it was a nightmare.

"You okay?"

Hyoma had expected Yu to say that he was fine or even shout about how he didn't need to be looked after and that he could take care of himself. But that was not what the reaction he received.

Yu, in a rare show of weakness, pulled his knees to his chest and hugged him legs. "I... I had a nightmare."

Must have been some nightmare to rattle him like that. "Want to talk about it?"

Yu shot him a look. "I'm trying to not even _think_ about it. Why would I want to _talk_ about it?"

"You sure? It helps."

Mentally, Hyoma was berating himself for letting the four words slip out of his mouth. If Yu said he didn't want to talk, then he didn't. He should stop pestering him.

But he looked so troubled.

He snapped out of his mental battle when Yu sighed. "You remember when I was with the dark Nebula?"

Of course. He remembered how surprised he had been to know that a little kid was a part of the organization and at finding out how strong he was. Especially that time he beat Gingka.

But what did that have to do with his nightmare?

Without even being asked to, Yu elaborated, "I keep remembering Reiji and what he did to Libra."

Hyoma froze. He had completely forgotten that Yu had also had a devastating battle against that snake guy. He and Kenta had had a hard time getting over it, and he could only imagine what it had been like for Yu, who couldn't be older than eight or nine.

Somehow, he found himself wrapping an arm around the kid. "It's hard to get over it, isn't it? But it'll be okay. It's alright to be scared, Yu."

He didn't know if he was surprised or not when Yu leaned against him, closing his eyes, but he still couldn't help a smile spread on his face.

So this was what Gingka meant about Yu being able to break anyone's defenses.

* * *

 **So, the gang is back at Koma Village and Gingka and Ryuga are childhood friends. Meaning that while Ryuga is going to be more or less the same, he'd be a lot more friendlier (or actually friendly depending on how you look at it) in the original with those he already knows. He will be making an appearance in the next episode, so stay tuned.**

 **As for the second part of the chapter...well, I've always liked the idea of Hyoma comforting Kenta and Yu after their battle with Reiji since he's the oldest one of them but since Kenta has already gotten over it in this AU, I had him comfort Yu.**

 **Also, Ryuga's hair being only red in his childhood is a headcanon of mine. I like to think that it changed because of the dark power, since I siriusly (I've been getting into Harry Potter a bit too much again) doubt that he would dye it while he's insane. And the reason why Tsubasa's hair doesn't change is that his hair was already white.**

 **By the way, I just realized that Tsubasa is actually older than Ryuga.**


	8. Chapter 8

**.paul:** Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I'd be more than willing to write Shogun Steel one-shots, seeing as I haven't even started on almost all of my other stories. I've hit a writer's block before I even began! Of course, I'll have to watch Shogun Steel first. Any suggestions where I can find it?

 **Guest:** Yeah, he really needs to know. I think I've finally found a way to inform him and make it seem more natural than what I had first planned. However, it probably won't come for a while.

 **Guest #2:** Yeah, the anime really should've shown them train more. It's more realistic that way. I don't really remember when Tsubasa said that, but I might have just forgotten. No worries, there will be more training in the future too.

 **Guest #3:** Ryuga's death was heartbreaking! I'll probably end up finding a way to give Kenta a star fragment and keep Ryuga safe ad sound. As much as you can be when you're fighting the freaking God of Destruction, anyways. Although it could go south if I get tempted to kill him off to get more character development for Gingka, Kenta and Yu. But the chances of that happening are pretty low, so no worries. No need to worry about bothering me either. I love reading ideas and imagining different plot lines. Your suggestion actually gave me two different plot lines. About the Gingka part... I'll try my best to make it more realistic. Not to mention, he;ll be stronger than he was in the anime, so that will be an added bonus. Gingka was kind of over-powered in the anime, wasn't he? I've been trying to change that or at least make it more realistic, which will probably come soon.

 **resplandorrosa626:** I'm glad you likes it. The reason I made Ryuga from Koma was that 1) they never showed anywhere he stayed except volcanoes, 2) I just wanted an excuse to give him more history with Gingka and 3) I wanted to give Hyoma some more character and I will probably show how he coped with the whole thing (maybe in this, maybe in a separate one-shot). Madoka and Tsubasa will have their chapter in the near future. Tsubasa will also overcome the Dark Power sooner than he did in the anime because Ryuga's more helpful now.

 **Mawazo:** I'm glad you liked it. The characters are really fun to play around with. Now I see why people like torturing their favorite characters. I've been aiming to make the characters better than the original not only in terms of strength but also in terms of character and development. Keeping my writing easy to understand was also one of my aims so I'm glad I was able to do this. Technically, English isn't my first language either, but we learn it in school so there's not much of a problem with me. However, I can understand how hard it must be for others so that's why I try to keep it simple.

 **nEcNJ:** Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

 **Guest #4:** That's one of the best quotes in the entire show, especially because of the situation. Yeah, our resident sourpuss is from Koma itself. Writing that chapter was nostalgic too, which is one of the things I was aiming for. Too many people forget about the place where it all started: Koma Village. Yup, Ryuga was a redhead, which gives me more material to mess around with him (the younger him, anyways). It's a miracle the two survive. You can bet there were bribery and threats involved. Uh huh, Tsubasa's older, but still scared of Ryuga. By the way, is it just me, or is Ryuga a shrimp?

 **Guest #5:** So I'm not the only one who finds it funny XD! Actually you've given me a really fun idea, so thanks. I'm glad you like this story so much. It's also the best thing I've ever written. I really don't know where the idea came from, but it was awesome. And, well, Gingka's gotta have more than one friend, right?

 **Well, that took a while. Thanks for all the reviews guys. They're just what I needed, with exams going on and all that stuff. Yeah, even exams can't stop me from writing. It's my life!**

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 8: Unexpected Help**

Tsubasa walked around the outskirts of the village. The various sounds of the forest animals reached his ears, yet none to could replace the one inside his head.

"Come on, you want to be stronger, don't you?"The voice taunted as Tsubasa desperately tried to ignore it. "Don't you?" it repeated mockingly.

"Shut up," Tsubasa muttered, though he was not sure to whom or what. Why couldn't it just leave him alone? Whatever "it" was. He opened his mouth to argue with it, but someone beat him to it.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

Golden eyes widened at the familiar voice. It couldn't be... Turning around, Tsubasa was faced with the person he had both expected and not expected to see.

Ryuga stood, grinning like a psycho.

"Ryuga!" he exclaimed.

The mentioned blader rolled his eyes, an unexpected action from him. "No, Santa Claus." Then, Tsubasa was met with a glare that made his blood freeze. "Why are you here?"

Biting back with a retort was a really bad idea, no matter how tempting. His time babysitting Yu and, at occasions, Ryuga at the Dark Nebula had proven that much.

"Destroy him."Seemed like the voice was bent on making his life a living hell. "You say you're strong without my help, right? Then prove it!"

 _"And how do I know you won't take over as soon as I launch?"_ Tsubasa asked mentally.

Great, now he was talking to invisible voices. Maybe dealing with his teammates _was_ making him go insane. Between facing Ryuga's wrath and losing his sanity, Tsubasa would choose the latter, especially since he valued his life and his teammates wouldn't let him stay sane anyways. Why risk his life for something he would surely have lost by the end of the year?

His musings were cut short by a bark of high-pitched, insane laughter. Surely, Tsubasa didn't sound like that, right? "So, you're not as stupid as you look."

"Shut up," Tsubasa muttered again.

"Talking to yourself, huh?" Ryuga's voice brought him back to the living world. He really hated that stupid smirk. "Those brats finally made you go wacko?"

Golden eyes narrowed into a glare. He was not ready to deal with this. Besides, why didn't Ryuga attack and be done with it? "Shut up." Seemed like he'd be saying that for a while.

One minute, Tsubasa had been arguing with his dark side. The next, he was battling Ryuga, which basically meant keeping himself safe from L-Drago while trying to keep his dark side from taking control.

* * *

Of course, it didn't last long before the dark side took over, despite all of his efforts. Soon, Tsubasa was not only battling Ryuga but also himself. Why couldn't he just have some normal time? Amidst the confusion, Eagle whizzed around, hitting almost anything but L-Drago in sight.

Ryuga did not look impressed.

 _"Stop! Stop it!"_ Tsubasa shouted, but to no avail.

He mentally growled, his frustration taking over. Why couldn't he overcome this stupid...thing?! Whatever this thing was. Why was it that he couldn't defeat it? No matter how much he struggled every time it showed up, he always failed. Why didn't his efforts yield results?

His internal rant was cut off by Ryuga. "Pathetic." Finally brought back to the land of the living from his mind, Tsubasa simply stared at Ryuga, gritting his teeth. He _had_ to win, even if it was against Ryuga.

Pain shot through him and all his mind could register was that it _hurt_ for a while as the thing took over again.

"Don't underestimate me!" Tsubasa growled despite himself. "I'm warning you!"

He could only watched helplessly as a dark aura surrounded Eagle and charged towards L-Drago. A huge eagle erupted from it, but it wasn't his constellation. For some reason, it reminded him more of the L-Drago from Battle Bladers than Eagle.

"You call this children's magic show the Dark Power?"

What? Dark Power?

For a moment, the thing Ryuga had called the Dark Power subsided, for once allowing Tsubasa to take the lead. Tsubasa himself stared at Ryuga, too shocked and confused to even form words.

"What are talking about?" he finally found his voice.

Ryuga's grin was beyond smug and it was irritating the hell out of Tsubasa. Before he could comment on it, however, it disappeared, now replaced by a chilling glare that made him want to curl up and die.

Not that he let it show.

"Don't resist it," he said, making his eyes widen. How was he supposed to defeat it without resisting it? "The more you resist, the more it will control you. You cannot fight it, trust me." So, in other words, it fed on negative emotions? No wonder Ryuga had fallen victim to it. "You must become one with it. Understand?"

Why did it start to seem like Ryuga was scolding him?

Before he could voice any question or thought, however, red lightning struck the ground right in front of Ryuga. Some sort of worry crept in but Tsubasa pushed it away. Ryuga could take care of himself.

The flash faded away, revealing nothing but the crater on the ground. However, Tsubasa had other things to think of. Like Ryuga's words, for instance.

Why did it seem like Ryuga was advising him?

* * *

Masamune watched as Yu and Kenta tried the forest stump stadium Gingka and Hyoma had shown them. The two childhood friends had decided to give some time to themselves, leaving the rest on their own. Madoka was analyzing the battle nearby, giving advice to the two while Tsubasa leaned against a tree, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

At one glance, Masamune could tell that something was bothering him. Otherwise, his eyebrows wouldn't be furrowed in a confused manner and his shoulders wouldn't be so tense. There was also the fact that he hadn't replied to Masamune even once.

The sound of rustling reach his ears and he turned around, only to find some bushes. Eyes narrowed, he watched closely for any movement. The leaves moved and rustled once more, although no one else seemed to notice.

He looked around for a while and found a stone. So logically, he threw it at the bush. For a while, everything was silent, but then the bushes rustled furiously as a head appeared from them. Masamune's blood ran cold at the sight of the angry boar and it only took a second for him to make a break for it, the boar following closely.

"Uh... Shouldn't we help him?" he heard Yu question, but didn't hear any reply, for he was _way_ too busy running for his life.

* * *

Masamune looked around the forest. The boar had stopped chasing him after a while but Masamune hadn't realized it until what he guessed was half an hour later. He hadn't exactly seen where he had been going either.

"It's official. I'm lost," he muttered to himself.

With no better idea, Masamune just picked a random direction and started walking. What had Gingka said if they got lost? Just follow the river. Right. It would have been simple, if it had not been for one detail.

Which way was the river exactly?

His feet had started hurting by randomly walking in pretty much every direction by the time he'd heard sound of the rushing river water. His face lit up like a firefly at night when he heard it and he ran towards the sound, all previous exhaustion forgotten.

It wasn't long before he reached the river. He turned to the direction he thought he had come from, only to find the river continuing endlessly. "Why can't there be cars or trains or something around here?"

The people of the village must love walking. No wonder Gingka hadn't gotten tired from the walk to the Beylin Temple back in China.

Masamune was about to walk when he caught the sight of what seemed like a cape on a tree branch from the corner of his eyes. Turning to his left, he realized that it wasn't a cape but, in fact, a jacket and that the person wearing it was looking straight at him, his eyes swimming with emotions none of which seemed positive.

Wait a second. He knew that guy. Pointing at him, Masamune declared, "You're Ryuga!"

The dual haired teen jumped from the branch right in front of him, smirking. Man, he wished he could jump like that. "Apparently, my reputation precedes me."

Did this guy live around here? "Hey, could you tell me the way back to the village?"

The guy didn't reply with words. Instead, he grabbed something from a golden thing he was wearing and threw it. Between them on the ground, a bey spun slowly, wobbling as if it had been ambushed by a hundred others, just without the damage.

What was the meaning of that? "Uh... I just want to get back, so-"

Ryuga cut him off. "Battle me." It wasn't a request. It was a command.

Masamune smiled confidently. There was no way he could lose to a wobbling bey. He pulled out his own launcher and launched. "Just so you know, challenging the Number One Blader like that wasn't your best decision."

Ryuga smirked at him. "Number One, you say?"

Striker attacked with full power, but contrary to what he expected, the bey was still wobbling. Well, second time's the charm. "Again, Striker! Keep attacking until it stops!"

Striker attacked relentlessly, but none of the attacks seemed to cause any damage. Masamune faltered slightly. "Wha-What's going on?"

Ryuga let out a laugh that sounded very psychotic. "This is all Japan's representative had to offer? Pathetic!"

Masamune gritted his teeth. There was no way he would let this guy make fun of him. "There's more to it than that. Striker!"

Striker attacked with even more strength, enough to cause small explosions, but none seemed to affect the bey at all. The wobbling bey was the same as it was when it had been thrown. However, Striker had started to wobble slightly. "No way! What's going on here?"

He heard his opponent sigh in what seemed to be disappointment. "If this is a championship level blader, then I really shouldn't have bothered." Then, he glared at Masamune in the most terrifying way possible. "Pay attention!"

"Huh?"

Masamune looked closely and what he found shocked him to the core. Ryuga's bey was wobbling, yes, but definitely not as much as it had been before. "How...?" Ryuga simply smirked smugly. "You're stealing Striker's spin strength!"

Ryuga let out another insane laugh. "Finally! L-Drago!"

The bey was now spinning with full vigor, as if it had just been launched. Meanwhile, Striker was the one wobbling as if it had been ambushed.

"Get away, Striker!"

Striker tried, but to no avail. A red dragon appeared from L-Drago and attacked Striker relentlessly. Masamune watched, wide-eyed, as his bey took one attack after another. It was as if Ryuga was toying with him.

It wasn't possible. It just wasn't! He was supposed to be Number One! Yet, he couldn't win that battle. After all his claims and vows, he was still just as weak as he was when he had begun. He couldn't do it. He couldn't be Number One.

His emotions took over him, as usual. Frustration. Disbelief. Anger. Pain.

Regret.

"I'm sorry, Toby..." he mumbled, shutting his eyes once they'd started stinging.

The sound of metal hitting the ground reached his ears and he opened them, only to find Striker next to his foot. The green bey was motionless and cover in scratches and dirt. Masamune only stared, not making any move to pick it up.

"Remember one thing, Masamune Kadoya." He looked upwards to face Ryuga, who looked more reprimanding than reproachful. "In the World Championships, everyone is competing to be Number One. Calling yourself the best before it's decided will only lead you to failure. Got that?"

The words hit him hard, but Masamune listened. This was the guy who had beaten him, so that meant he was better than him. That, in turn, meant that he had more experience and knowledge. Masamune remembered his promise to his friends.

 _"I'll become Number One, no matter what. I promise."_

If he had to listen for that, he was willing to. For his friends' sake.

He knew Ryuga was gone, but he still stood there by the river, thinking things through.

After all, failure meant that he was going to succeed later on. That was what his coach had told him and even if he hadn't listened back then, he was willing to now.

Because he would be Number One, no matter what. Unlike before though, he wouldn't shout it from the top of his lungs. He's prove it with Striker. Then, there would be no doubt about it.

* * *

"Masamune!"

The call echoed throughout the woods, but he received no reply. Where on Earth could he have gone? Yu wasn't ready to admit it, but he was starting to get worried. Maybe he angered a some bees after the boar. Or he could have been eaten by a bear. Or fallen off a cliff.

Yu shook his head rapidly. Those thought weren't exactly helping. Masamune would be fine. He had to be.

"Long time no see, Yu." Green eyes widened as Yu turned around, finding none other than Ryuga on a tree branch. "Miss me?"

"Ryuga..." Yu mumbled, his voice laced with the same emotion he felt. Disbelief. He reached out to pinch his cheek. "Ouch." So, he wasn't dreaming. Ryuga really was there.

Ryuga simply raised an amused eyebrow as Yu ran up to him. "Ryuga! It's been a while, buddy!" He spread his arms out, as if expecting a big hug.

Ryuga closed his eyes and Yu could've sworn he heard him chuckle. "True. But," he opened them again, but they were no longer friendly, "I'm here for something else."

With that, he launched L-Drago at Yu, who had no choice but to counter with Libra. It was something he and Tsubasa had gotten used to. Whenever Ryuga was bored, he just launched his bey at people randomly.

As Libra desperately tried to avoid L-Drago's attacks, Yu asked, "Is that a new L-Drago? It looks even cooler than before! Where did you get it?"

Yeah, Yu was aware that Ryuga had done some horrible things to many people, including him, but he was willing to forgive. After all, that was what friends did. They forgave each other's mistakes. And while Ryuga had completely dismissed his friendship before, which admittedly hurt, it was because of the Dark Power messing with his head. At least, that was what Gingka and his father had said.

Besides, what kind of a friend would he be if he couldn't forgive him for something that wasn't even his fault? Well, mostly anyway.

"Focus!" Ryuga snapped, reminding him that he was still there. Wait, was Ryuga doing what he thought he was doing?

"Ryuga, are you...training me?" Yu asked. It felt weird to ask the person in front of him that, but Ryuga didn't seem to mind. If he had, he'd have let Yu know. He could remember the various instances Ryuga had brushed away his requests of training him, so why was he doing it now? "Why?"

Ryuga raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you don't want it..."

Yeah, right. "That's not what I meant!" Okay, Ryuga's smirk was starting to get annoying, especially since it seemed both teasing and smug at the same time. Yu had no idea how he pulled it off.

Well, seeing as questioning him wouldn't do any good, Yu decided to just battle. "Libra! Sonic Buster!"

Libra glowed green and the ground under the two beys started to turn into sand. Yu looked up to see Ryuga's reaction, only to find him looking unimpressed. "You rely on that too much. L-Drago!"

The dragon bey moved over the sand as if it was the same ground from before. "Not everyone will be trapped, you know."

Yu smiled confidently. Even if he knew he couldn't win against Ryuga, there was no way he shouldn't be able to give him a challenge. "We're just getting started. Libra! Sonic Wave!"

Libra shot the green waves at L-Drago at full speed. The move collided with the white bey, creating an explosion. Yu's smile disappeared when the smoke cleared, revealing a perfectly spinning L-Drago.

"No way!" he declared as Ryuga's smirk widened.

"Is that all you've got? That's disappointing."

Yu glared at Ryuga, remembering the Russian battle. He was starting to feel the same way he did back then. Frustrated and angry. Never a good combination. "Don't underestimate me! Libra! Inferno Blast!"

The green pillar appeared once more, accompanied by a sharp, ear-splitting sound. However, this did not seem to bother Ryuga at all, who simply grinned. "Time to finish this. Special move! Dragon Emperor Supreme Flight!"

A red dragon appeared from Ryuga's bey, charging towards the pillar with great speed. It opened its mouth and shot out rapid blasts of fire, ready to incinerate anything in its way. The blasts hit the pillar, creating a huge explosion.

The dust soon cleared, revealing a motionless Libra in front of the spinning L-Drago. Yu sighed. He wasn't really disappointed. He had known from the beginning that he couldn't win against Ryuga. However, he was kind of happy with the results. He had actually forced Ryuga of all people to use his special move.

As if he had read his mind, Ryuga spoke, "Yu, this does not mean you get to be overconfident, got it? Never let your guard down."

Yu tilted his head. So basically, all he had to do was not underestimate others and not to get cocky? He could do that. That just meant that he had to act the opposite of Masamune.

Now that the battle was over, he could totally catch up with Ryuga. Wait, where _was_ Ryuga? Yu looked around, only to find no one but himself.

Wait, he was supposed to help find Masamune!

* * *

A few days later, Gan Gan Galaxy and Kenta were on board the train back home while Hyoma and Hokuto stood at the station to see them off. There vacation had come to an end since Kenta's deadline for going back had come near.

Apparently, Hyoma had done some digging of his own on the other teams, or more specifically, Team Excalibur, but all he had found was that the other two members were known for their extraordinary teamwork and their water tactics. He had also given Yu some sort of strange advice only he had understood.

 _"Don't forget the Challenge Match."_

Whatever that meant. Yu seemed to be bent on not telling them the meaning. He had said that it was payback for making fun of his position as the sub and for not underestimating him back then. Gingka and Masamune wanted to counter by saying that he had gotten them back by his pranks but didn't for the fear of being subjected to more if they reminded him that he was no longer grounded from doing them.

From the compartment window, Gingka mouthed to Hyoma and Hokuto, 'Thank Ryuga for me, guys.'

He didn't receive any reply though, for the train had started moving again. As Madoka examined the damage, Gingka looked back to his run-in with Ryuga.

 _"Galaxy Pegasus, huh? Looks like you haven't mastered its true power yet."_

What did _that_ mean? He and Pegasus had gotten a lot stronger, so what did Ryuga meant by Pegasus' true power? Was it some sort of feature? Or something else?

Hmm. Seemed like Ryuga's habit of speaking cryptically and causing more confusion than realization hadn't gotten any better. If anything, it seemed to have gotten worse.

Oh, well. He could think about it later. From his brief conversation with Ryuga, one sentence stood out to Gingka.

 _"I've repaid my debt to you."_

A small smile appeared on his face as he gazed out of the window and into the familiar forest.

Even after all that had happened, Ryuga hadn't forgotten.

* * *

 **This has to be one of the longest chapters of the story. Like I said, Ryuga's friendlier and is more willing to help. I hope I was able to keep him close to his canon personality. Any suggestions and stuff would be appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi! I felt like updating sooner this time, so here it is.**

 **resplandorrosa626:** I'm glad you liked it. I was kind of nervous about Ryuga because he has a lot of fans and I didn't want to butcher his character, so you really made me more comfortable about writing him. Thanks.

 **Mawazo:** Thanks. I take pride in my work. Writing Ryuga's interactions was really interesting and fun, especially with those two because of the whole Dark Nebula thing and because Yu treats him like his best friend while Tsubasa thinks he's certifiably insane. Writing Dark Tsubasa was something I struggled with a bit because unlike Ryuga, I couldn't make him less insane and get away with it. I really hope I was able to characterize him correctly. Wild Fang will appear a bit later in the story than they did in the anime. Sorry not sorry. The reason my English is great is because we learn it in school since we're practically kids. I guess it doesn't make much of a difference whether it is or isn't my first language then. From what I've seen, yours isn't so bad either.

 **QueensKhioneandFernis:** I'm glad you liked him then. Writing him when he's insane is hard, or is that just me? Anyways, enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **The Stage is Set: Chapter 9: Of Leaders and Team Battles**

Night had fallen by the time Gan Gan Galaxy reached the airport in Greece. So naturally, they checked into the hotel and decided to get some sleep. But _someone_ didn't agree with that.

"I don't wanna go to sleep!" Yu whined.

Gingka sighed. "Yu, if you don't go to sleep, you won't be able to battle anyone properly tomorrow."

Yu shook his head. "Not true! I can mop the floor with any opponent, tired or not."

There was once a time Masamune would have disagreed with that statement. But Yu's steady progress in their training sessions, along with the fact that he _had_ creamed them on more than one occasion, led him to think twice. Secretly, he and Gingka thought that Tsubasa gave him more hints to get stronger than the rest of them.

A sigh from the silver haired blader made him jump. "Alright Yu, we'll play one game and then it's off to bed."

He turned back to the mentioned blader to see him sitting on the bed with the ludo game they'd bought him in Russia as a prize for his first battle. Tsubasa had taken a spot next to him and Madoka had taken it to herself to unpack the things they'd need in the morning.

"Come on, guys," Yu said, looking at the two remaining people. "It won't be as fun if you don't play."

"But I don't wanna," Gingka said.

"Me neither," Masamune agreed.

Yu pouted but then brightened up. He opened his eyes wide and big and clasped his hands in front of them, curling into himself to make himself seem as small as possible. "P-Please?"

At the sight of those eyes, the two stiffened. Gingka shifted uncomfortably next to him while Masamune had to use every ounce of his strength to not give in to those kicked puppy-dog eyes.

Surely, they had to be a weapon of some sort.

To their credit, they managed to resist the pleading look for about half a minute, which was a record for Gan Gan Galaxy. No, it was seriously an official record. You'd have to have a will of steel to not give in to Yu's puppy eyes.

Simultaneously, the two said, "Fine," and made their way to the bed, selecting their colors.

Yu smiled in victory and Tsubasa just shook his head in amusement.

* * *

Thanks to that same pleading look, one game had turned into four, going fifth. Madoka had decided to get a head start on fixing whatever remained of the damage the beys had taken their training sessions, since she couldn't sleep with the noise they made anyways.

At the moment, it was Yu's turn who was thinking really hard which player to move. Sighing, Tsubasa picked one of his own and put it back into jail. Yu's face lit up as he moved the piece behind it to where Tsubasa's player had been.

Handing Masamune the dice, he said, "Come to think of it, we still don't have a leader." At that statement, the four froze and even Madoka looked up from her work. "You know, I think Madoka should be the leader."

"Wait, what?" the brunette said, taken aback. She waved her arms frantically. "No, no, no. I'm just the supporter member. I can't be the leader."

"Can I do it?" Masamune asked.

"I don't know," Gingka replied. "I think Tsubasa should be the leader."

Well, even Masamune had to see sense in that. Out of all of them, Tsubasa had the most common sense, even he wouldn't argue about that. He was always calm and collected and knew what to do in any situation, which was more than he could say for himself even if he hated to admit it. All good things a leader should have. Besides, after the battle with Ryuga, he was going to focus on not trying to gain too much attention. "I guess you're right," he finally said.

"So, it's official," Madoka said. "Tsubasa is Gan Gan Galaxy's leader."

This was met with a chorus of agreements."Wait, don't I get a say in it?" the Eagle blader asked.

"Nope," everyone said in unison.

"...Jerks."

* * *

The next morning, Masamune was the last to wake up. "Hey, guys," he said while stifling a yawn, walking into the lobby. "Where are we going today? What are we going to do? I'm so excited."

"Good morning, Masamune," Yu said, bouncing to the said blader. "Madoka said that we're going to the Festival of Warriors after we go to the beach."

Masamune nodded. Even though Tsubasa had been chosen as the leader, no one dared to question the brunette, especially not right after the earful she'd given them last night when Masamune and Gingka refused to go to sleep without having one of them win more than the other, even though Yu had won most of the games because Tsubasa kept giving him advice. "Okay, then."

"Alright, fellas," Gingka cheered, raising his fist in the air. "Let's go."

* * *

Not objecting to Madoka's decision led the team into sneaking into the festival after being told that they couldn't come and, due to an argument, being found.

The prize...er...the _punishment_ was battling with some bladers from the festival.

As Striker flew into his hand, Masamune couldn't help feel a bit disappointed. Even Yu gave him a better challenge than these bladers on his _worst_ days and he was the sub.

Yeah, Masamune was _never_ going to let that one go, even if Yu could give him a run for his money.

The blader he'd just fought against stood back up. "One more time."

The annoying Wales person stepped forward. "Stand down. I won't let you disgrace us any further." Turning to them, he said, "Joke's over. I'll be your opponent now."

The Sophie girl from the beach also stepped up. "You cannot be allowed to smear mud on this Festival of Warriors. I will battle as well."

A team battle, huh? No problem. "Let's do this," he said.

"Wait a minute, guys." Yu's outburst caught everyone's attention. "If it's just Gingky and Masamune, then it's not fair! I want to battle too, so bring out one more."

Wales looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "One more?"

Sophie held out a hand to her side, tilting her head to the other as she said, "Be careful."

"Then I will be your opponent," a new, familiar voice joined in. Everyone turned to the source, and surely enough, Konzern was standing near a door

* * *

The six beys were launched in the stadium of the ruined building and no sooner did they land, the Gan Gan Galaxy members were on the attack. "Go, go, go!"

They stopped, however, when the newly introduced Excalibur members made no move and their beys just spun in front of them.

Something was up. Masamune could feel it in his gut, and the gut feeling was never wrong. He took a closer look at their formation. Team battles were, after all, about strategy and the formations to apply them with.

Destroyer was spinning at the other end, behind the two Cetus beys. The two were spinning right next to each other, acting as if they were Destroyer's shield.

Huh, seemed like Tsubasa was rubbing off on him. Oh well, thoughts for another time.

"They're protecting Destroyer," he informed his companions even if he was sure that they'd already noticed.

"Noted," Yu said.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Gingka grin. "Let's see how good they are at it. Go, Pegasus!"

"Striker!"

As per their bladers order, the two beys charged ahead, striking the white and blue beys respectively. For a few seconds, neither budged but Masamune was sure that the Cetus duo was being pushed back slightly before the two horse beys were sent flying from the collision.

Masamune grinned. Nothing like a good challenge. "Your turn, Yu."

"On it. Libra, Sonic Wave!"

Wales threw his arm out to the front as he said, "Cetus, be Konzern's shield!"

The blue Cetus moved forward in the way of the wave. Masamune would have called him an idiot, if he hadn't managed to deflect the special move.

"You're joking!" Yu exclaimed. "My Sonic Wave was just smacked away!"

Spending time with Tsubasa sure had it advantages, like the fact that you started observing almost as closely as he did. Thanks to that, Masamune could pick up the slight, almost unnoticeable wobble in Cetus's rotation before it pulled itself together.

From what he'd seen, Masamune would have said that the two thought that they were just targeting Destroyer. As if they'd be that stupid. They'd gotten way stronger since they'd seen him at the Desert Blaze match, so it wouldn't have been a stretch to think that Konzern had gotten stronger as well.

"Grand Cetus's Fusion Wheel is just like a wall," he heard Madoka say. "It has amazing defensive power."

"Still, Pegasus's and Striker's attacks and Libra's special move should have gotten through," Tsubasa said.

"It's the rubber flat Performance Tip," the brunette replied. "The frictional power of the rubber makes it harder to move. Plus, Blue Cetus's Spin Track is a WD145. It's the ultimate Defense Type."

"As long as we're here, we won't let you lay so much as a finger on Gravity Destroyer," Wales declared.

A smirk formed of Yu's face and Masamune was immediately on his guard. After all, it was the same smirk that had gotten them banned from the beypark in Russia after a group of idiots had underestimated him and decided to pick on him. And that had also led to Madoka adding a new rule to the Gan Gan Galaxy rule book - which had proven to be useful in keeping them all under control - about no Inferno Blasts indoors.

"You sure talk big, but the battle hasn't even started yet."

Crap. With Yu's smirk and the way he'd said those words, it didn't take a genius to know his intentions. You just had to know him well enough.

"Get back, Striker/Pegasus," Masamune and Gingka said at the same time.

Because while they had raised their speed to the point where they could move on the sand, they had to get on it and definitely did not need it appearing out of nowhere and disrupting their already set rhythm.

After the two beys were at a safe distance, Yu said, "Okie-dokie, here we go. Libra! Sonic Buster!"

The bey glowed and the beginning waves that showed on the stadium soon disappeared, replaced by sand that grew from Libra and started to cover the stadium.

Sophie gasped. "What do you think you're doing to our arena?!" She turned around in a dramatic fashion. "This can't happen." Pointing at Yu, she turned around to face them once more. "I will absolutely not allow it."

Yu just looked bewildered at her sudden dramatics.

Suddenly, a white glow erupted from White Cetus, covering only Libra and the sand trap it had created. It disappeared soon but Masamune could pick up some water twirling around it. "White Cetus, Grand Maelstrom!" A whirlpool appeared from it and buried Libra under it.

"It's a big spiral of air that looks like a lot of water," Madoka explained. "The T125 Spin Track uses intense centrifugal force and down force to create that current."

Yu was quick to react. "Libra, Sonic Shield!"

A green glow appeared from within the current and added to the color of the whirlpool. The maelstrom exploded, revealing the two beys still spinning. The only thing that seemed to be damaged was Libra's sand trap.

"How did he survive that?" Wales asked no one in particular, disbelief laced in his voice.

Yu sung his reply, obviously mocking them. "Libra's super sonic wave can repel water." Then, he turned serious, the smirk appearing again. "Time to break their formation. Libra! Inferno Blast!"

A green light surrounded Libra and started to move upwards, generating its characteristic ear-splitting sound. Before the pillar could reach the roof, Madoka shouted over the sound, "Yu, the _ceiling_!"

In a matter of seconds, the light disappeared. Yu turned to face Madoka with a sheepish look. "Sorry!"

"Time to put an end to this," Konzern said, speaking for the first time since the battle began. Wales and Sophie turned to him and nodded before turning back to their beys.

Raising her hand, Sophie said, "Whirl, White Cetus."

This time, Yu kept his distance as the whirlpool once again filled the center of the stadium.

"We'll show you the real reason we both use the same Cetus beys," Wales said.

What?

"Let's do this. Cetus! Grand Victoire!" Sophie said.

The current of the whirlpool increased and a huge, white whale appeared from it, towering over them as they gaped at the giant creature.

"Special move! Cetus, Grand Fleet!" Wales said and a blue whale of almost equal size joined White Cetus.

"Joint special move!" they both said at the same time as the whales began what seemed like a dive. "Cetus! Grand Deucalion!"

The two whales once again submerged themselves under water, splashing a lot of water in their direction. The water towered over them and moved towards their beys in the form of a tidal wave ready to sink anything in its way.

"The famous wave that once buried the countries around the Aegean Sea!" Sophie said.

"Sadly, there's no escape for you either!" Wales added.

"Who wants to escape?"

"I know I don't," Masamune replied to Gingka's question, even though it wasn't aimed at him. "Go, Striker!" The green bey made its way to the ferocious wave. "Looks like there's no other choice." From the corner of his eyes, he could see Gingka and Yu turn to him. Masamune grinned at the former. "Gingka, you owe us big time." Ignoring his surprised look, he turned to Yu. "Let's do this, Yu."

The kid grinned. "On it. Libra!" Libra joined Striker in its charge, albeit at a slower pace.

"Here we go. Special move! Lightning Sword Flash!"

"Libra! Photon Ray!"

The green colored beam and the lightning horn broke through the wall of water with ease, making their way to the other side and ultimately Destroyer from the middle of the now two waves. Gingka, along with the rest, gaped at the scene.

"We didn't make this path so you could gape at it, Gingky," Yu said.

"Go now, Gingka," Masamune added.

"Right. Go, Pegasus!"

The winged horse followed the unicorn's guidance, using its wings to elevate itself. When it reached Striker, Pegasus climbed over it and used the height to gain more, and eventually spread its wings through the water, towering over the purple-black bey.

"It's sad, really," Masamune heard Konzern say. "People always seem to aim for the stars, and don't realize that they have no chance in reaching them."

As the winged horse of legends charged at Destroyer, a huge warrior wearing an armor appeared from it, towering over Pegasus despite the fact that it was flying. As it got closer, Destroyer raised his sword and struck Pegasus with it.

As if enchanted, the waves fell with the sword, drowning both Striker and Libra. The latter could have avoided it, but Libra sometimes had to stay still because of a momentary backlash after using Photon Ray. It happened sometimes and this seemed to be one of those times.

Destroyer vanished and so did the water, revealing the three beys still and definitely unmoving.

Frustration took over his body and Masamune fell to his knees, pounding the ground repeatedly while shouting, "No, no, no!"

This wasn't supposed to happen. The Festival of Warriors was supposed to be a fun chance to meet strong bladers while getting information on the EU team.

"I can't believe it..." Yu mumbled weakly.

This wouldn't happen in the real battle. Masamune would make sure of that.

After all, what kind of a Number one blader would he be if he lost to someone twice?

* * *

 **The episode that started everything, the one that made me want to write this fic and the one I've probably memorized by watching it so much. Gan Gan Galaxy lost this time around as well, because they can't keep winning all the time. Besides, they lost much more epically (is that even a word?) than the original because the match in the anime was a joke.**

 **Besides, from the next chapter, this will really seem like an AU. And I think you'll be pretty mad at me after that one. By the way, now that we're done with all the chapters I wrote on this fic's birthday, the updates might get a bit slower, but I'll try my best so please bear with me.**


	10. Chapter 10

**And another quick update. What can I say, you're reviews are encouraging. That, and I really have no other thing to do at the moment. Anyways, please enjoy.**

 **Guest:** Yup, Ryuga's sarcasm is the best. I don't really remember that part, but I haven't watched Fury in as much detail as I have Masters. I'm guessing it was when Kenta challenged him to a battle before following him around.

 **.paul:** Another fast update, then. The two of them could have had an awesome brotherly relationship if the anime wasn't so Gingka-centered. So, I'll take it to myself to uncover all the things that could have happened in the show in this fic.

 **QueensKhioneandFernis:** Yes, someone did say Excalibur XD. I'm glad you liked the battle so much and that I could write a battle more awesome than the anime. Take that, the original. The EU team will appear again soon. Quite soon, actually. After your review, I've been wanting to write an Excalibur and Gan Gan Galaxy centered story which I probably will (maybe, maybe not).

 **resplandorrosa626:** Well, Tsubasa should be the leader. He's the oldest, the most mature one (more like the _only_ mature one) and he has experience in tough situations because of his career. I'm pretty sure Yu wanted to make Madoka the leader in the show as well. Then again, she's the only one who can keep Gingka, Masamune and Yu in line. So, she could be the second-in-command or something? Well, I'm glad you like the parts I change. Those are the things I really wish happened in the show. Somehow, after writing this fic, my appreciation for Masters had lowered a lot. Or maybe it's just the fact that I've almost memorized it with how much I watched it.

 **Guest #2:** Finally, someone caught that. I wanted to incorporate the Koma Village episodes in the chapter aside from the whole returning thing. Same, the anime was almost my entire childhood (Still is a huge part of my life).

 **Mawazo:** Thank you! Characterization has always been one of my strongest points for certain characters (or so I think). Then again, I haven't thought about it in a while and back then, I wasn't really good at much. Still, thanks a lot. Of course, writing a story is more difficult than writing a review but still. You're English is pretty good. The fact that Yu lost so easily annoyed me so much, I actually began to write this fic and didn't stop until I reached that chapter. Of course, I added some more later but back then, it was chapter seven. Yes, Excalibur is pretty strong, which is also one of the reasons I made Gan Gan Galaxy lose, because no matter how much better they are than the anime, they aren't invincible and can lose to teams like Excalibur. I think that whenever people write fics for any series with stronger characters, they forget that.

* * *

 **Sequestration: Chapter 10: Ambush**

Yu ran around the streets of Greece, his joyous laughter echoing in the lane over the chatter of the people who were too busy to notice him. It had been a few days since the Festival of Warriors and the team had decided to start their tram battle training from the scratch. However, they had been too stressed by the consecutive beatings by Excalibur and Ryuga which naturally led to a lot of fights, enough to cause Madoka to nearly disband Gan Gan Galaxy. Wang Hu Zhong had been just in time to help them, keeping the team together.

They had declared the day as a break from all sorts of training since they'd started training like madmen, all day long without any breaks.

Yu, Mei-Mei and Chao Xin had decided to visit the zoo nearby. Of course, Yu being Yu had left them behind a while ago.

Yu stopped running when he realized where he was. He seemed to have come out of the crowded part of the city and entered an abandoned alleyway. Yu couldn't make out the end of the alley, met with darkness when he tried.

All of a sudden, he didn't want to go further ahead on his own. He wanted to see someone familiar. Heck, he'd even put up with Chao Xin's attitude, especially around girls. Anything than being in that creepy place.

He turned around, not really remembering where he had come from. However, he hadn't gone very far when he heard something and, on reflex, launched Libra in the direction of the sound. The green bey was met with another one.

The two beys clashed in the middle of the alley. The bey kept Libra on its Spin Track, preventing Yu from looking away from the battle. Once Libra got the upper hand, Yu looked around for anyone, only to be met with no one.

"Okay, who's there?" he asked loudly. He was met with no reply, aside from the echo of his own voice.

A clash brought his attention back to the battle, where Libra was holding its own against the bey. He should leave while he could, before anything big happened. Madoka would be furious if his bey returned looking like it had been hit by a steamroller. He moved his arm to return Libra, but before it could get anywhere, Yu became aware of searing pain at the back of his head.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the mysterious bey returning to...somewhere.

* * *

"You lost him?!" Masamune rounded on the Wang Hu Zhong members, who looked ashamed.

Mei-Mei nodded, her usually bright eyes downcast. "We tried to follow him, but the crowd was too big for us to move anywhere. And we haven't seen him since."

The rest of Gan Gan Galaxy shared a look. It had been almost half a day. They didn't really blame the two, since they themselves had lost Yu on many occasions. However, that had always been in Metal Bey City, a place Yu had come to know like the back of his hand.

Tsubasa broke the unsettling silence. "For now, we should go look for him. It wouldn't be the first time he's gotten lost and turned up at the end of the day. If we don't find anything by eight, we'll report his missing."

Only he could stay calm at a time like that. Masamune glanced at the clock. 6:30. They had an hour and a half. Masamune allowed himself to calm down. It wasn't the first time Yu had gotten lost.

He tried to ignore the part of his brain that said that it had been at his home.

* * *

Soon, they had all split up, searching the city in pairs: Mei-Mei and Madoka, Tsubasa and Chi-Yun, Dashan and Gingka and Masamune and Chao Xin.

Unfortunately, for the last group, neither of the two had brought a watch. So, they had searched until it had gotten really dark.

Chao Xin looked at the sky, unlike Masamune who looked around wildly, as if Yu would suddenly pop out of anywhere. "It's getting late. We should head back."

Masamune rounded on him in a matter of seconds. "But we haven't found him yet! He could be anywhere!"

"Exactly. He could be anywhere. We can't check all of Greece in the span of one night," Chao Xin stated calmly, unlike his green clad companion. He had never seen Masamune act like that. He was so nervous and jittery, it was as if he'd been replaced by a look alike.

"But..."

Whatever argument Masamune had, it died on his lips when Chao Xin held up a hand. "Masamune, the only thing we can do is continue our search in the morning."

Masamune shook his head, acting more like the stubborn person Chao Xin had met in Hong Kong. However, he came to a stop, sighing in a downcast manner that was really unlike his usual upbeat demeanor. Honestly, this side of Masamune unnerved Chao Xin. "Who knows what he's going through right now..."

Chao Xin made no comment to that. He had a feeling Masamune needed it off his chest and if there was anything he'd learned at the Beylin Temple, it was that the best course of action was to trust one's instinct.

"He's only eight, Chao Xin. Eight!"

Chao Xin stared at Masamune, who kept ranting about what condition he could be in. His mind, however, was stuck on the previous sentence. Yu was just eight? Yes, he had known that he was a kid (or a dwarf), but an eight year old had managed to get into the World Championships, when many older and more experienced competitors couldn't?

That kid had some serious skills if he managed to become the youngest competitors in the tournament.

He was brought out of his train of thoughts when Masamune heaved a huge sigh. "Thanks for listening to...that." Chao Xin opted not to point out that he'd stopped listening after the second sentence. "We should get back."

The two turned to leave, but Masamune suddenly halted, his brown eyes opening wide like saucers as he stared at some glistening object in the ground. "Masamune?" The blader didn't answer and instead, bent to pick the object.

Chao Xin had a sudden epiphany as he stared at the object - no, the bey. Even in the dim moonlight, there was no mistake the light green color.

Libra. Or at least, a part of its fusion wheel.

Masamune's hand tightened around the piece and Chao Xin finally looked at his companion, almost flinching at the sheer fury in his eyes. He couldn't exactly blame him. If one of his teammates had gone missing and their bey had been found in such a state, he'd be furious as well.

Chao Xin was about to call out to his companion when the sound of something spinning on the ground reached their ears. The two turned back to the path they had come to find a bey with a dark energy ring that could have been any color in the dark.

The bey sped to the other side of the alley. Chao Xin had a bad feeling about it but before he could voice anything, Masamune sped after the bey, leaving him no choice but to follow.

* * *

Masamune ran through the alleyway with a speed that would make a cheetah jealous. Turning around a corner, he stopped when he saw no lead to the bey. Leaning on his knees, he panted, but even so, glared at the pavement. He didn't know who the bey belonged to, but he knew one thing for sure. It was related to Yu's disappearance. There was no way he was letting any clue get away.

The sound of footsteps reached his ears, alerting him immediately. Masamune turned around, only to be met with nothing but thin air.

Still looking around, he didn't notice a shadow loom over him until it was too late, before all turned black.

* * *

Chi Yun and Tsubasa walked in silence, making their way back to the hotel. Their search had ended without any discoveries. Chi Yun frowned. He had hoped that they would find something. He didn't like it when people were upset about something. He knew all too well what it felt like when the world seemed to be against you.

Tsubasa was tense as he walked next to him, his golden eyes scanning the streets discreetly. It was almost as if he was suspecting that they were being followed. Chi Yun didn't comment though. It could have been just his nerves for all he knew. Tsubasa had always been a mystery to him.

Tsubasa's eyes darted left and right slowly, trying to pick up even the slightest movements, the slightest irregularity in the scene. As an agent, he had been trained to have a sort of a sixth sense when it came to stealth and at the moment, his internal alarms were blaring.

He was glad Chi Yun didn't comment. He had surely noticed and thankfully had the sense not to ask if something was wrong. Had it been one of his teammates, they'd have asked him for sure. He didn't want the stalker to be alerted.

His lips twitched downwards. Something wasn't right. It was as if that guy was inexperienced at this. He wasn't even making an effort to hide himself. Almost as if he wanted to be caught. Was it a trap? Or was he overthinking things?

Tsubasa had no time to ponder on a third possibility, for as soon as they had turned into an alleyway, the place was filled with some sort of white cloud. Tsubasa covered his mouth, immediately recognizing the smell of anesthesia. However, they couldn't move any further since the gas had obscured almost their entire vision.

Trained agent or not, Tsubasa had his limits. It was only a matter of time before he caved, falling limp on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Gingka walked around the city that night. They had come back from their search and not only had there been no sign of Yu, the rest of his teammates hadn't returned either, with the exception of Madoka. The brunette had warned everyone against going around alone, but Gingka decided to make ne exception to that. He needed to be alone and think about it.

Madoka and Wang Hu Zhong were probably talking to Ryo and Hikaru, informing them of the matter. Gingka found himself glancing at the sky, watching the constellations shine in the dark sky. He eyes swam over the many patterns, locking themselves on Libra and Aquila.

"Where are you guys?" he asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, his eyes caught movement around a nearby street and, instinctively, he followed it. Footsteps echoed in his ears as he ran, but he wasn't sure if they were his own or someone else's. "Wait up!" he called, groaning when the person sped up even more.

Madoka would have his head for leaving. Running after unidentified people wasn't going to make it any better.

Gingka kept running, not really sure how long he had been at it. He came to a halt when he met a dead end, the wall to high to be climbed. Gingka looked around. The only way out of the corner was back, so where was the person he had been following? He had made sure to keep his in sight, so where had he gone?

Something hit him at the back of his head and Gingka fell to the ground, groaning. His eyelids fell shut, but not before he saw something blond and a pair of purple eyes at him.

Seconds later, the world around him faded to black.

* * *

 **Yes, I went that far. Because seriously, I don't care if it's an anime, you can't just let children travel the world on their own. It's dangerous, even if you're the crazy Gan Gan Galaxy. I really don't know what the anime creators were thinking. In the original beyblade, there was at least Tyson's grandfather travelling with them, even if it was for a small part. Okay, rant over.**

 **By the way, can you guess who Gingka's kidnapper was?**


	11. Chapter 11

**For the next few chapters, each chapter will focus on one characters specifically. At least five chapters will be like that, so I can focus on the development of each character. After all, the main characters have to have character development.**

 **QueensKhioneandFernis:** You'll just have to wait and see. Come to think of it, you spotted more clues than I did and I freaking wrote the chapter. You're really sharp. By the way, I never noticed that Julian and Chris have all those similarities.

 **.paul:** Yeah, Gan Gan Galaxy's journey seemed like a walk in a park compared to the original beyblade where they could get into practically any trouble. Their predicament will last probably a few chapters, especially for what I have planned. Wouldn't want to be Tsubasa, that's for sure. Well, I don't think everyone in the show had a backstory but at least everyone on the team (aka the protagonists) had their backstories that each affected them in different ways. Not to mention, they were all so different yet so similar. I intend to turn these simple characters into ones that could be compared with the original show.

 **resplandorrosa626:** Wait and see. Having Masamune getting all worried was fun to write. While it's partly because of Yu's past, it's also because, well, you can't travel around the world with someone and not grow care for them. Thanks!

 **Mawazo:** Well, thanks! In the anime, the characters (aside from Gingka, of course) barely had any character development. Sure, Tsubasa had a heck of a story with the Dark Power, although I think he defeated and got over such a thing easily since it was, well, the Dark Power. All he did was decide firmly that he would fight fair and voila! The Dark Power was gone! And while one could say that he had proved himself to it, if it was that easy, Ryuga could have done it sooner too then. Tsubasa had Ryuga's help of course, but still! There should have been at least some aftereffects of the thing. Aside from that, Madoka, Yu and Masamune barely changed throughout the series. The same with Kenta. They remained the same even though Yu _could_ have matured as he did in Fury through this journey, Madoka _could_ have gotten better as a strategist and mechanic and Masamune _could_ have gotten better in taking losses and learning from his mistakes and stuff. On another note, I'm glad you like "my Masamune" because too many people in the fandom (or at least, in the YouTube comments) hate him and I seriously don't get that. I mean, sure, he could be better, but couldn't we all? Besides, the anime really should have showed such a relationship and such worry between these characters. I mean, they're practically traveling the world together. They're bound to get closer and more understanding with each other and whatnot. Exactly why I hated the movie's Masamune. He was acting more like the Masamune from the beginning of Masters than the one from the time when the events of the movie were taking place. I intend to make this fic a lot more realistic than the anime. For example, explaining how they can all understand foreign languages (Japanese people do not learn English in schools, people! They're not talking in English!) and (maybe) adding the countries' foreign relationships, because believe it or not, these things actually affects worldwide traveling. That part about super strong characters that get really weak after being defeated once really annoyed me. While one could say that they aren't weaker and Gingka and his friends are stronger, why can't these characters get stronger too? Man, I'd never do that to someone else's characters, let alone my own. Okay, now this got long too. Sorry! I don't really mind long reviews. In fact, I adore them, so no worries.

 **Guest:** I know, right? He's just too freaking cute for his own good. I'd probably do the same thing and turn away while he destroys the world.

 **Guest #2:** BREAKING NEWS: This just came in. Eye witnesses have claimed the explosion coming not from a bomb or anything but from an actual person! Some have named the condition FSS or Fangirl/Fanboy Squealing Syndrome! We will now take a short break. Stay tuned for more! * Shouts, "Cut!"* Okay, that was fun XD.

 **Guest#3:** Sure, no problem. I can imagine Klaus's surprise that a kid managed to break through Grand Deucalion.

* * *

 **Sequestration: Chapter 11: The Rescue**

Yu groaned as light hit his face. He shut his eyelids tighter. Couldn't Madoka let him sleep in for once? It wasn't like they were having a match or something.

Shouting reached his ears and Yu stopped his mental complaining. Were Masamune and Gingka having an argument again? Or was Madoka lecturing them about something? Or maybe it was Tsubasa telling them off for messing around with his eagle.

Seeing that the voices didn't stop, Yu opened his eyes, partially closing them when they were hit by a blinding light. When he was sure they were used to the light, he opened them fully.

He could see two other people in the room from the corner of his eyes, both with dark hair. He couldn't see their faces since they were a bit to the side and he didn't want to alert them by making any move.

One thing was for sure. It wasn't any of his teammates. It appeared that he was tied to a chair in a small room. At least they didn't gag him.

"You knocked him unconscious?!" one of the people shouted, throwing his arm towards him as if to prove his points.

Well, there went the remain unnoticed plan. The two stared at him, blinking their brown eyes in surprised. Yu stared back. "Uh...hi?"

The words broke the stunned silence but definitely didn't do much to break the ice. The person who had spoken pointed a gun at him and, for once, Yu did what any eight year old would have done.

He screamed. Loudly.

The two glared at him as the gun was pressed against his forehead. "Shut up," the second one hissed even though he had felt silent at the first, wordless threat.

Yu gulped inaudibly.

Just what had he gotten himself into?

His heartbeat broke into a sprint as a crashing sound came from outside the room. He turned to the door with wide eyes despite himself, shaking madly.

"You think those brats finally killed each other?" he heard the second person ask.

Yu blanched, gripping the arm of the chair tightly as if it was his lifeline. There were more of these people? His chest seemed to tighten as his heart dropped into a bottomless pit at the thought. Would they kill him? Would he ever actually get to see his friends again? He didn't want to die yet.

The door burst open, making Yu nearly jump out of his skin. He paled further at the sight. More kidnappers and murderers would have been better compared to the one person at the door.

He'd prefer anything than the sight of a furious Ryuga.

* * *

Ryuga had to admit, he'd have never imagined that he'd flip if he ever heard that the whole of Gan Gan Galaxy (except Madoka) was kidnapped.

In hindsight, he really should have seen it coming. After all, the kidnapped people included Yu, his first friend in the Dark Nebula and his most loyal one, Gingka, one of his childhood friends and rival, and Tsubasa, whom he owed a lot since the mess he was going through about the Dark Power was his fault. Meaning three of the six closest people to him.

It wasn't common knowledge, but Ryuga was over-overprotective of the people he considered close to him, even if they didn't know it. He'd learned enough from his past mistakes.

Not that he'd ever say it out loud. Or let them know for that matter.

He made short work of the wannabe kidnappers. He couldn't believe Doji would employ such amateurs to get his work done. Then again, after being declared a madman and a criminal, one couldn't get many people to listen to them without getting chucked in jail.

He glanced at Yu, who was tied to a chair and seemed to be on the verge of a seizure. He was just eight, after all.

He walked towards him slowly, keeping his expression to one he hoped was calming. It seemed to be, for Yu's shaking slowed. The kid looked at him with wide, tearful eyes. "R-Ryuga?" The word came out as a small whimper and Ryuga had half the mind to beat up the unconscious people some more.

He knelt in front of Yu, undoing the ropes as he spoke, making sure to keep his voice low. "It's alright, Yu. Everything's okay now."

As soon as he was untied, the kid flung his arms around him. Ryuga stiffened, his eyes widening slightly. When was the last time he'd been hugged like this?

A ghost of a memory of his younger brother flashed in his mind and Ryuga did something he hadn't done back then. He returned it.

Feeling the small arms around him tighten, Ryuga swore he'd never leave Yu alone again.

* * *

For the next few days, the two spent their time in a nearby village, taking the time to heal. It wasn't just Yu who needed it. Often, Ryuga would have to stop himself from going back and destroying the people. There were also times when he'd wake up from nightmares about Yu's death or torture.

Still, he was holding on better than the kid, which was understandable. After all, Yu was the one who had gone through that and not him.

Yet, the kid was making a quicker recovery than he'd expected, that was for sure. As long as you didn't mention anything related to kidnapping and blood around him, he was back to his usual cheerful and innocent self after a few days.

The two were staying at a friend's home, or so Yu had told him. Apparently, it was a girl he'd met when he'd run away from home who had let him stay for a while. Ryuga hadn't prodded him for answers as to why he had run away since he was pretty freaked out before. Besides, he didn't like being nosy. Living his own life was hard enough. He didn't need to get involved with others.

A cup was placed on the table in front of him and he blinked. Looking up, he saw their white haired host, fumbling with her fingers while staring at the ground.

He turned back to the cup and peered at the contents. "Tea?"

If possible, the girl became even more flustered. "I...uh...I thought you would enjoy some."

He found himself staring the cup despite himself. The color was strong, just the way he liked it. For as long as he could remember, he'd loved tea for some reason. "How come?" he finally asked, tearing his eyes away from the cup.

The girl seemed to deflate. "So, you don't remember after all..." she said more to herself than him but he still caught it.

Ryuga's eyes narrowed. "What was that?" His tone didn't really have any bite in it, since he figured he'd better be nice to the person he owed to. He wasn't so sure about after the debt was repaid though. It wasn't that he was a horrible person. At least, some people didn't seem to think so. He just didn't like socializing.

"You used to come here," Elena said. "When you were little."

What? Ryuga traced his memories but found no recollections of the small village. Then again, he didn't exactly remember anything from his childhood - just bits and piece from Koma. There was a possibility she was telling the truth. But that didn't mean he'd believe it without proof.

The girl took a seat of the table. "I-Is everything okay?"

Ryuga glared at her. "Prove it."

"Excuse me?"

"Prove it. That I've been here before."

Elena seemed to think for a few seconds and then reached out behind her neck. Soon, she held out a locket he'd seen her wearing the whole time they'd been there. He'd never seen her take it off, so it was obviously important.

He took it and opened it. His eyes widened when he saw not only his own younger smiling face beam at him but also his brother's. The two of them were in the foreground with a girl which was obviously Elena smiling shyly in the background. She had longer hair in the picture whereas it only reached the a bit past the shoulders of the girl in front of him.

He slowly traced the picture with his finger as memories hit him one after another.

 _"S-Stop it," a small girl begged, covering her face with her long, white bangs. In front of her were two children, smirking as they teased her about her unnatural features._

 _Ryuga had to admit, white hair was kind of unusual with pale skin and the red eyes didn't make it any better. Then, there was also the girl's forehead. It was bigger than he'd seen with anyone his age. He frowned. It was wrong to tease people for things they couldn't control. Before he could say or do anything though, Ryuto took action._

 _He ran towards the three, shouting, "Stop it!" He came to a stop between the girl and her tormentors, glaring at the two._

 _The two shared a look. "Aw, how cute. A hero." The two moved forward, cracking their fists. Ryuto suddenly looked really nervous. Actually, that was an understatement. He looked like he'd pass out any second. "Let's see how you handle a fight, Prince Charming."_

 _Ryuga glared as he stalked towards them. Like hell he'd let anyone other than himself threaten his brother. "If you know what's good for you, you'd run away."_

 _Between the brothers, Ryuga had always been the more intimidating one. Hence, it was no wonder the two backed off. Ryuga watched as Ryuto turned towards the girl. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, right?"_

 _The girl shook her head, peering at the tow of them. Ryuto smiled, oblivious to her nervousness. "I'm Ryuto! That's my big brother, Ryuga!" At that, he pointed at Ryuga, who huffed._

 _"I can introduce myself."_

 _"I never said you couldn't."_

 _"Then stop speaking for me."_

 _"I-I'm Elena," the girl said._

 _The two turned to her and she turned red under the attention. They had forgotten she was even there. Ryuga smiled slightly and reached out. The girl stiffened but all Ryuga did was push her bangs behind her ears. The girl bit her lips, staring at the ground._

 _"If you do that, they'll know that the teasing's getting to you. Then, they'll do it even more because they'll know it bothers you," he said. Then, as an afterthought, added, "Besides, you look nice this way."_

 _The girl turned the shade of her eyes and mumbled a 'thank you' as Ryuto laughed silently behind him._

Ryuga blinked as realization hit him. He glanced at the cup again. He remembered why he loved tea so much. It wasn't because it was tea and it didn't matter if it was made a specific way or not. It was just because Elena used to make it for him and Ryuto.

"Ryuga?"

Ryuga's head snapped up. "Huh?" She wordlessly gestured to the locket. "Oh, right." He handed it back to her and the girl put it on again.

The two sat in silence for a while as Ryuga finished the cup to the last drop. Then, out of a habit he hadn't known he had until a few moments ago, he said, "Billboard Brow?" The girl looked up, smiling at the familiar nickname. "Thanks."

* * *

"No way!" Yu declared. Elena giggled softly and Ryuga smirked. "You guys were friends?"

Ryuga raised an eyebrow. "Were? I was under the impression that we're still friends."

That was all the proof Yu needed. After all, Ryuga never called anyone a friend unless he truly meant it. "So, what was Ryu like when he was a child?" His smile widened when Ryuga groaned. Even Elena snickered. "Was he good? Or was he a naughty kid?"

Elena giggled at that, looking behind him. Yu turned and nearly laughed at the murderous look on his face, since it wasn't really directed at him.

"Don't. You. Dare."

Elena gave him a predatory smile before turning to Yu. "He hasn't really changed all that much. Aside from the fact that he actually used to be cute." Ryuga glared at her. Whether it was because she called him cute or because she said that he wasn't cute anymore, he'd never know. "He was actually a bit like you, when I really think about it."

With that, the girl went back to the dishes and no one said anything more about it, Yu chatting away about the World Championships.

* * *

"...And make sure you eat properly. And-"

Ryuga raised a hand and cut her off. "We get it, El. Stop. I swear you're worse than a mother." Elena gave him a small glare that really seemed more cute than scary.

The two had decided to head out and ever since she'd heard it, Elena had first nagged them about keeping in touch with them and then about taking care of themselves.

Yu beamed at her. "We'll be fine, Ellie." He then gave her a hug. "You'll watch me, right?"

He felt a hand go through his hair. "Of course, kiddo. Do your best, okay."

Yu let go and nodded rapidly. "Of course, I will, Ellie. I'll win, win and keep on winning!"

"I'll hold you to that."

"Let's go," Ryuga said and promptly took off.

Yu ran after him, waving at the girl. Elena waved back and Yu was sure he saw tears shine in her eyes. He suddenly didn't want to leave. But he also wanted to see his friends and compete in the championships.

"Ryuga?" The said teen didn't give any indication of whether he heard him or not, but Yu still asked, "Why can't she some with us?"

Ryuga shrugged. "Her choice."

And the subject was dropped at that. Yu gazed at the sky. He'd make sure to win. And then, he'd visit with his teammates and Kenta and the rest.

After all, he promised.

* * *

 **Well, this turned out to be more of a Ryuga chapter than a Yu chapter. Or is that just me? By the way, if anyone thinks Yu recovered too soon, he hasn't. At least, not completely. At the back of his head, this all still bothers him. Besides, when he was kidnapped in the anime, he was fine and while one could argue that he hadn't been there for long, Ryuga rescued him only a few minutes after he woke up.**


	12. Chapter 12

**QueensKhioneandFernis:** Oh, I see. I have quite a few plans for Ryuga, so no worries. He probably would have killed them if Yu wasn't around. He knows he has a bad reputation and he doesn't want to traumatize the kid. As for the others...well, just wait and see is all I can say. The Doji part will be elaborated soon, but not just now. *grabs a shotgun* Let's go Doji hunting!

 **Guest:** Well, just wait and see...

 **Guest#2:** I know, right? Who in their right mind lets a kid run around the world unsupervised? I totally agree with you. They should be worried. Well, who doesn't love those two?

 **Guest#3:** They'll never let him live that one down.

 **resplandorrosa626:** I'm glad you like it!

 **Guest#4:** I never even realized! So much for being the No. One Blader.

 **.paul:** About that...I just assumed it based on their personality and looks. Their ages are as follows:

Yu - eight

Kenta - ten (almost eleven)

Madoka - thirteen

Gingka and Masamune - fourteen

Ryuga - fifteen

Tsubasa - seventeen

I'm glad you liked my version of Ryuga's backstory and Elena. I was worried since putting an OC between popular characters can be dangerous. Thanks!

 **Mawazo:** You have a point. It certainly affected Tsubasa more than he likes to admit. That's exactly why I loved the Tsubasa of Metal Masters. Well, Masamune's friends are practically a part of his personality. He's just so loyal and friendly! I'm glad I could portray that correctly. I think the Beyblade creators focused more on the plot than the characters in the last two seasons. The exact reason why Metal Fusion always manages to capture my heart. Well, just wait an see. It will probably come up in the Gingka chapter.

 **Guest #5:** Haha, you have a point. Although I can't squeal and laugh at the same time XD.

 **Guest#6:** Overall, Kenta probably had the most character development, but looking at the second season alone, there wasn't much of it. I was talking about just Metal Masters. I get that Kenta wasn't the main focus of the second season, but he still could have had more development in Masters, just like he had in Fury. The Fury counterpart of Kenta is my favorite for that exact reason. You can tell he's grown up unlike his Masters counterpart which remains the same throughout the season. I think the creator was stuck with what to do to defeat Nemesis and ended up giving Gingka an unrealistic win.

 **Guest #7:** Yu probably would have but remember, he's eight. Any eight year old would be scared if they were kidnapped. It would be pretty unrealistic otherwise, unless they've been in so many situations like this that it's second nature to them. Besides, Ryuga owes Yu a lot. The guy was so mean to him in the first season. As for the others, see for yourself.

 **Guest #8:** Wow, my fic is causing worldwide destruction by random explosions from either angry or super excited fans. I'm gonna be the cause of the next World War!

 **Guest #9:** That's one of my favorite parts of that chapter!

 **Guest #10:** I totally agree with you. Fury was hand down the most emotional season of the entire series. Man, that really is the worst 'careful what you wish for'. I nearly cried for real when Ryuga died! The music only made it worse. It was so sad!

* * *

 **Sequstration: Chapter 12: The Ally**

"Let. Me. Out!" Each word was accompanied by the 'bang' of the metal door being hit, yet the command was ignored like the ones before it.

Masamune huffed to himself at receiving no reply. He'd make sure they listened, and he had the perfect way to make sure too. He hit the door repeatedly at a faster pace, this time without words.

No response.

Giving up, Masamune sat on the floor, cross legs and arms. He had woken in the dark room and had been there since without any company. At least they hadn't taken his bey.

What did these guys want with him, anyways? And if he was there, was Yu there as well? He wasn't in the room, but that didn't mean he couldn't be in another room.

He wondered what his other teammates were doing. Madoka was probably worried out of her mind and definitely showing it. Gingka could be trying to calm her down and trying to convince everyone that it would work out even with his own doubts. Tsubasa was most likely being the leader of the team, the calm and collected person that could lead in any situation, consoling the rest even with his own fears.

He didn't want to think of the state Yu could be in and avoided the thought like a plague.

His stomach rumbled, making him wonder when he had eaten last. How long had he been there, anyways?

Masamune tried to recall what had happened. He had been in an alley, chasing the bey that could have belonged to the person who attacked Yu. And then...nothing. He woke at the place.

He was more nervous than he'd like to admit. What was going to happen? Would he ever make it out of the place? Would he ever get t battle in the World Championships again? Would he ever get to be Number One?

He had to be Number One. He had promised Toby, his friend who was sick in the hospital. He had promised Zeo, who had been against him leaving before Masamune convinced him. He had promised.

And Masamune Kadoya never went back on his word.

To get rid of the bad thoughts, Masamune remembered the time he'd spent with Gingka and the others. The time when Yu had wandered off in the zoo and they'd searched all day for him, only to find him playing with the lion that seemed to be scared of him. The time when he and Gingka had had the breath holding contest and both ended up passing out at the exact same time. The time when he had gotten sick and Madoka held Striker hostage until she was sure he was all better. The time he had battled Kenta in the qualifiers. The time when he and Tsubasa had a fight after their tag battle training.

 _"You're hair is a lethal weapon!"_

A small, nostalgic smile made its way to his lips. It all seemed such a long time ago.

Masamune shook his head rapidly, getting up from the cold, stone floor. "What am I moping around about? I have to get out of here!"

And with that, he resumed the banging and shouting. Only this time, the door opened. Masamune lowered the hand he had raised to bang the door again and stared down at the form of a young, long haired, redheaded girl. The girl's blue eyes glared at him with an intensity that made his body go numb.

The silence was broken by the girl who, while rubbing her ears, said, "Ever thought of not yelling so loud? Heard it makes people not lose there hearing."

Pointing at her, Masamune asked, "Who are you?!" Was she one of those people? She had to be, right? After all, why else would she be there.

The girl raised her hands in surrender. "Don't get your knickers in a knot. I'm on your side."

Masamune's eyes narrowed. "Oh, yeah? Prove it."

Instead of replying, she took out a cell phone and began dialing a number. Once the person on the other side of the line picked up, she said, "Agent Tachibana reporting. We've found one of them." Masamune couldn't hear what the person had said, but a few seconds later, the girl held out the phone to him.

Masamune took it and put it to his ears. "Hello?" he asked tentatively.

He heard a sigh of relief from the other side. _"Masamune, are you alright?"_ It was Gingka's dad speaking and all of Masamune's doubts were cleared.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

 _"Good. Your parents are worried sick."_ Well, he could imagine his mother threatening to behead the person responsible and anyone else who might get in her way. _"Listen, the person I've send is one of WBBA's top agents. Despite her age, Kanade is more than capable. She'll take you to Japan along with any one of the rest you may find."_

"Okay." After that, the call was soon ended and Masamune returned the phone to its owner.

"Let's go then," she said briskly before turning around and walking away, her unkept red hair flowing behind her.

Masamune stared after her for a while. "Sure..."

* * *

Apparently, he had been locked in the middle of nowhere. Masamune ran through the forest, trying to keep up with the suddenly bubbly redhead who was racing through the trees as if she was running a marathon.

"Will...you slow...down?" he asked, panting. Unable to run anymore, he came to a stop and leaned on his knees, breathing heavily.

Kanade bounced back towards him, giggling. "Sorry!"

Straightening up, Masamune asked, "What happened to the attitude from before?"

Kanade shrugged. "I'm still ten." She must have not noticed the look on Masamune's face because she continued, "I almost never get to be a child because of the whole agent thing, so I take any moment I get."

"What?!" Kanade raised an eyebrow. That had to be the weirdest sounding 'what' she'd ever heard. "You mean to tell me that you're ten and a secret agent?!"

She glared at him, her arms akimbo as she leaned forward a bit. "Are you saying that I'm too young?"

Actually, that was exactly what he was saying, but seeing the glare, Masamune quickly shook his head. Kanade was probably trained. Ryo had said that she was skilled and he didn't want to find out how much.

Kanade smiled at him, straightening although her arms were still on her hips. "That's what I thought." She spun around, walking at a much slower pace. "They said that I'm a prodigy or something. Unfortunately."

Masamune had always thought that being a prodigy was a good thing. After all, everyone was always going on about how they were so much better from other people. So, why was she not happy about it? "You don't sound pleased."

She waved a hand in his direction, keeping her eyes ahead. "Nah, everyone expects too much and that's troublesome. That, and failing is almost like a crime."

Well, that made sense. "Sounds harsh," Masamune commented.

"I know, right?"

* * *

Turned out, Masamune and Kanade had a lot in common, including the whole 'I have to be the best' thing, although for different things. Heck, she was also a blader, although she refused to battle because, to quote her, the mission was to get him back in one piece.

Soon, they had reached a small town. Sadly, it didn't have an airport. Luckily, it had an inn and a small restaurant.

Unfortunately, Kanade was still on her real personality, meaning that he had had to go through the torture every man fears. Shopping trips.

Okay, it could have been worse, seeing as Kanade went straight to the point, didn't waste time admiring the clothes she wasn't even going to buy and only visited a few shops. Heck, he didn't even have to go to the shops with her. He had been allowed to go wherever he wanted as long as he wasn't too far and return when she said to.

The horrible part was that while there was a small bey-dish for battles near the shops, the bladers were only average at best. No challenge for a world class blader, not at all.

Still, it was better than having to carry a dozen of heavy bags or something.

"Masamune, we're done!" he heard a familiar chirpy voice and swung around to see Kanade.

However, instead of her previous outfit, she donned a simple, light pink dress with long, grey sleeves and wore a white vest over it with small light pink pockets and light pink linings around the sleeves. With this, she wore white jeans and white boots with pink lining.

She waved a hand right in front of his eyes and Masamune blinked, taking in the white finger-less gloves she wore. "Why are you staring?" she asked almost innocently.

"Nothing," Masamune replied and, as an afterthought, added, "Nice outfit."

If there was something about girls he learned from Madoka, it was that they liked compliments on their appearances.

"Thanks. Let's get something to eat."

* * *

Of course, Masamune being Masamune started chowing down the second the food was served as if it was going to run away any second, while talking. As usual.

However, Kanade's reaction hadn't been the same as Madoka's. Instead of telling him off, she had simply reached out, grabbed his ear and gave it a painful twist. As he rubbed his ear, she glared at him with such coldness that it could have rivaled Ryuga's. "Eat or speak, or I'll end up stabbing you. You've been warned."

Geez, were all girls this scary?

Anyhow, Masamune made sure to mind his manners, since he didn't want her to actually come through with her threat.

Another thing he'd learned from Madoka: never, ever, even by mistake, do something you've been warned about. The results weren't pretty.

"So," Kanade said suddenly. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you enter the World Championships?"

Wasn't it obvious? "'Cause I wanna be Number One."

Kanade tilted her head. "Yeah, but why?"

Masamune thought for a moment. He'd never told anyone about why he wanted to be Number One so badly, not even his teammates. It just never came up. Maybe telling someone would make him less worried about his friends condition. "When I was little-"

He was cut off when Kanade raised her hand in the universal 'stop' sign. "Hey, I didn't ask for a backstory. Just the reason."

Masamune glared, annoyed at the interruption. "I know. Listen. Anyways, when I was little, me and my friends-"

"My friends and I."

What was the difference?

"Will you stop interrupting me?"

Kanade waved a hand. "Fine, just saying."

Masamune gave her a small glare before continuing, "Well, we used to train in the same gym. It was our dream to become Number One. But then, one of them got so sick that he had to stay in the hospital. After a while, I heard about Gingka's win in the Battle Bladers, so I went to Japan to beat him so I could be considered as one of the best, if not the best."

"That doesn't relate to the tournament."

"I'm getting to it. Well, that took a while and by the time I managed to beat him, the selection tournament started and I just decided to enter from Japan since it was probably too late to go back to America."

Kanade was silent for a while, staring at her empty plate. "I see. Must be good friends for you to go so far to keep a promise."

Masamune smiled, nodding. "They are. Besides, I always keep my word."

Kanade smiled at him. "I can tell."

* * *

"So, where are we heading now?" Masamune asked, looking at the map in Kanade's phone while walking.

The two had set off again - on foot again since the village didn't have a train station nearby nor was there any taxi service or something - and Kanade hadn't looked away from her phone since they'd left the village. "The city. Now shut up, I'm trying to focus. It's easy to get lost in this part of the forest, or so I've heard. So, it's best to stick together and follow the map."

Masamune turned forward, his eyes catching something immediately. There was a dark, purple aura rising in the air from the distance. Masamune squinted his eyes. It seemed familiar.

"What's...?"

Masamune's eyes widened and he paled as he realized what exactly that was.

However, Kanade didn't seem to notice. She asked, "Huh?"

Without wasting a moment, Masamune took off, ignoring Kanade's calls and threats. He had figured out what it was, and he didn't like it.

A dark, eerie and purple aura rising above and destroying everything only meant one thing.

Tsubasa's Dark Power had gone haywire again.

* * *

 **You may have already guessed it, but the next chapter will be about Tsubasa. In case you haven't noticed it yet, I'm doing this in the order in which they got kidnapped.**

 **One more thing, guys. 1000 views, 74 reviews, 6 favorites and 3 followers?! You guys are seriously the best! Thanks for taking the time to read this fic. *does the Happy Feet dance* You have no idea how happy I am right now! Kaleidoscopic has to be one of my most successful fics ever!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Guest:** I know Ryuga doesn't act as nice as he actually is. However, this is an AU and in this timeline, Ryuga had people to accept him even after the whole Dark Nebula thing and I like to think that something like that would affect his personality a bit. Besides, he wouldn't be so nice to everyone, just a chosen few. And even that is not always. He's just less insane, like...a nicer version of him? As nice as you can get with Ryuga. Besides, the situation in that chapter was an exception. Yu was on the verge of a seizure and he was finally getting to remember something about his past other than the Dark Nebula.

 **Guest#2:** Haha, that is funny. I can relate to the last part. I've done this with too many shows. All "cool characters" are like that, comedians without even trying. Man, I wish I had some of their talent.

 **Guest#3:** Yes! Can you tell me where you got the nuclear bomb? I wanna hit him with it too.

 **Guest#4:** Lol, Tsubasa, the Sass Queen.

 **Guest#5:** Wow, I'll start a war and not even regret it. And people say fanfictions are a "waste of time". By the way, can I join in? Thanks! *grabs a sword and lets out a battle cry without even waiting for a reply*

 **Guest#6:** I know, right? You can take him but never, not even for a second, let go of him. You'll probably end up getting kicked out for trying to touch the dangerous animals.

 **Guest#7:** I know, right? They almost never show the parents. Not just this show, but animes in general. I mean, in most shows, children go out on dangerous journeys and their parents either don't care or just aren't even mentioned. Pokemon, I'm looking at you. So, I'll try my best to include most of, if not all, the parents. By the way, the organization were probably disbanded before anyone could sue them. I agree with you, I was thinking the same thing.

 **Mawazo:** Tsubasa's hands down one of the best characters. I guess it isn't saying much since I love almost every character in the show. It's too bad the show was so plot-centered, the characters had so much potential. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for the compliment.

 **Guest#8:** Wow, never thought about that. But yeah, you're right. Gingka was beaten by a kid half his age. Yu's freaking awesome!

 **Guest#9:** I wasn't really going for any relationship between them. Not just now, anyways. They just freaking met. But, if I feel like it, I'll probably end up adding some moments. However, that will be at least in the Fury arc since they still have to get to know each other. On another note, I'm glad you liked her so much, since I thought I was making her a bit of a Mary Sue. I mean, she's one of WBBA's top agents at ten. Although she isn't the main focus of the story, I could squeeze her in a few chapters.

* * *

 **Sequestration: Chapter 13: The Dark**

The room was dark, the only source of light being the small window with bars. No sound could be heard from miles. One would think that Tsubasa was simply sitting in the middle of the room. However, it wasn't as simple as that. He was actually thinking, planning.

He frowned, all his plans coming short. There were just too many unknowns. He didn't know how many people he was up against, he didn't know his location, the distance from his desired destination. He didn't know how armed his kidnappers were, how skilled they were or their weaknesses.

And it didn't help when the Dark thing kept taunting him every chance it got.

"What was that you always said? That you're strong enough on your own?"

 _"Shut up,"_ Tsubasa told it for the umpteenth time. _"Instead of amusing yourself, why don't you actually help for once?"_

He could almost hear the smirk in its voice. **"Why would I do that?"**

Tsubasa paused, thinking of a good enough argument. Of course, the thing wouldn't help him for the sake of helping him. There had to be something in it for it. He thought hard. What would be good enough for him to actually help him? Unfortunately, it wasn't the same as bribing Yu to finish his homework on time. It wasn't like it could use some ice-cream when it was stuck inside him.

Tsubasa jolted at the thought. The thing was stuck inside him. He didn't know the reason for it, but he knew one thing for sure. If he didn't get out of there, the thing couldn't do anything either.

 **"Not good enough, I'm afraid."**

He growled. This was all so messed up! There had to be someway he could use that fact. It was practically the only thing he had over it. Then, another thought struck him.

 _"Wait, if they kill me, you'll die too, right?"_

He felt it pause, thinking. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it replied, **"You're sharper than you seem. I guess I won't have any choice then."**

Tsubasa released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Maybe this thing wasn't as bad as he thought. _"Okay, so the plan is-"_

He could barely begin before he was cut off. **"Just because I said I'll _help_ ,"** it said the word as if it was poison, **"doesn't mean I'll listen to _you_."**

As it took over, Tsubasa revised his earlier assessment. It wasn't as bad as he thought. It was worse.

* * *

Still, having the thing inside him was more of a blessing at the moment. Even if the taunts were annoying. At least he got out of there. He didn't need to know what condition Yu was in.

The thing seemed to have gotten tired of mocking him for resorting to its help, so it went back to its usual thing. Poking fun at his insecurities.

Gritting his teeth, Tsubasa tried his best to push its voice to the back of his head as he navigated through the forest. He had finally found out where he was located. In the middle of nowhere.

Hearing some sounds, he froze and concealed himself behind the trees, making sure that he could see what was going on but no one could see him, just in case those people were stupid enough to try again.

He relaxed when he saw Konzern in the forest, riding a white horse Tsubasa wasn't sure where he got from. If he was there, the city was probably close. He tried to make his way to the direction he came from without alerting him, just to keep his espionage skills polished. However, the voice made it hard.

 **"You're always saying that you can win without me, right?"** it said. **"Go ahead and prove it then. We'll make a deal. If you beat him without too much trouble, I'll stop bugging you."**

Tsubasa, who had been ignoring the whole thing, perked up at the last part. He could get rid of it? Forever? It was almost too good to be true.

He took out Eagle from his pocket. His kidnappers were probably amateurs since they let him keep Eagle without even damaging it. Heck, it was the same as it was when Madoka finished repairing it.

Since Eagle was in the best condition it could be, Tsubasa could still battle. The deal was actually quite tempting. He tried to review all he could remember about Gravity Destroyer from the first round since it hadn't done anything in the team battle.

So, it could change modes, use dual rotation, make beys stop dead and defeat two people at the same time?

He knew there was a chance he could lose but he was willing to take it. Anything to get rid of the voice.

 **"Gee, I'm touched."**

 _"Shut it."_

Decision made, Tsubasa stepped out of his hiding spot with his bey ready for launch, grabbing Konzern's attention. The blond turned to look at him, not giving much hint of surprise aside from the slight widening of his eyes.

"You're Tsubasa," he stated, "of Gan Gan Galaxy."

Tsubasa pointed his bey at him. "Battle with me." He faltered but quickly caught himself. The Dark Power was getting restless.

Konzern got off his high horse - not metaphorically, of course. The guy was pretty arrogant, saying that it wasn't in his blood to lose. Tsubasa had watched some of his interviews, along with a few other people. He smirked a bit as he said, "I wasn't aware that it's Japan's style to launch a surprise attack."

Tsubasa gritted his teeth but otherwise gave no reaction. Many of the teams had participated for no reason other than to showoff the supremacy of their countries. Konzern, however, hadn't. He'd done it to showoff his own supremacy.

Not much was said before the beys were launched and immediately, Tsubasa felt the Dark Power force its way through him. Caught off guard, he staggered backwards slightly but managed to regain his footing quickly. In hindsight, he really should've seen it coming. The promise of the thing leaving him alone had just been too tempting to ignore.

The battle between the two Tsubasas ended with Dark Tsubasa winning the thing hands down.

Dark Tsubasa grinned at the fight before frowning when something came into his notice. **"Do it right."** Julian looked at him in confusion as the dark version of him glared. **"I want you to use reverse rotation."**

From inside his mind, the real Tsubasa decided to observe for a while. After all, Ryuga had said not to resist, right? Julian looked a bit surprised and slightly affronted. "Excuse me?"

Dark Tsubasa grinned as a dark purplish energy started to flow from him. **"I want to face the strongest version of you, understand?"**

The two beys were recalled and Julian flipped his launcher. "You will regret making me angry, Tsubasa."

 **"That's it. That's what I've been waiting for."**

The dark aura surrounding him went wild spreading in pretty much every direction, towering over even the tallest trees around them.

The two beys were launched again but before they could clash, two more beys joined the battle, one white and one blue. The two got between Eagle and Gravity Destroyer, going head-to-head with the former.

Dark Tsubasa glared and even Julian looked shocked as they heard two familiar and one unfamiliar voice. "Konzern!"

They turned to find Wales and Sophie running towards them, along with another person who Tsubasa didn't recognize. He was probably the fourth member.

"Wales! Sophie! Klaus!"

Blue Cetus knocked Eagle back to its owner's feet, yet it couldn't knock it out of the battle. The three intruders reached their blond teammate. "Are yo okay, Konzern?" Wales asked. Then, without even waiting for a reply, he turned and pointed at Tsubasa. "This guy isn't worthy of being your opponent!"

Wasn't that polite, saying something like that to his face?

"If you want to battle Destroyer, then you'll have to get past out Cetuses first, understand?" Sophie declared. As Dark Tsubasa gritted his teeth, Sophie ordered her bey, "Whirl now, White Cetus!"

A whirlpool erupted from White Cetus, nearly engulfing Eagle in it. Nearly.

"Now, Blue Cetus!"

Blue Cetus, which was inside the whirlpool and therefore out of Tsubasa's sight, caused the whirlpool to turn into a twister made of water, making it's way towards Eagle. In no time, the purple bey was submerged in the water and Dark Tsubasa gritted his teeth and growled.

The twister spat Eagle out and the bey landed on the ground, spinning yet definitely shaken. Tsubasa should have ignored the thing and went on to the city. It would've saved both him and Excalibur the trouble.

His teammates flashed across his mind. Masamune was probably on the verge of tearing the city down to find him and Yu, if they hadn't found him already. Gingka was most likely trying to keep both Masamune and Madoka calm, acting as the leader in his absence without having any idea of what to do. Madoka was probably worried out of her mind, spending hours without rest, trying to find clues. And Yu...

He didn't even want to think about it. Out of all his teammates, Yu was arguably the closest to him and Masamune, which wasn't really saying much. The kid was too friendly for his own good. If he had been found, he was probably killing himself with worry over him.

Of course, Tsubasa had just _had_ to be selfish, thinking only about himself and not about his teammates when he decided to do this. It was times like this that made him wonder why the rest nominated him to be the leader.

"Let's finish this now, Sophie," Wales's voice cut through Tsubasa's pity-party.

"Yeah. Go now, Cetus!"

Tsubasa watched as the two Cetus beys relentlessly attacked Eagle, leaving the bey at their mercy. Even his bey was suffering because of his stupid decision.

Dark Tsubasa finally decided to take action. **"You're getting in my way."** Tsubasa could almost feel the rage course through it. **"Don't mess with me!"**

A tornado of a dark aura erupted from Eagle and knocked the two Cetus beys. It eventually morphed into the same dark bird it had turned into in the battle with Ryuga.

The eagle flew towards the two beys, knocking them away without even touching them.

"No way!" The two Cetus users exclaimed.

Dark Tsubasa smirked as they gritted their teeth and glared at him. **"You can't stop me. I'll destroy you all."**

Eagle advanced towards the two beys, the aura trailing behind him like a purple sword ready to slice through anything. However, before it could reach any of the two, a blue flash knocked it out of the way.

Everyone turned to the source, being met with Masamune and Kanade's firm looks. "Tsubasa!" the former exclaimed.

Kanade kept her hard stare on him. "You aren't Tsubasa," she stated, her calm tone contradicting the ice in her blue eyes.

Dark Tsubasa smirked at her. "Well, well, well, look who we have here."

"The Dark Power," Tsubasa heard Kanade mutter to herself. It was no surprise she managed to figure it out. Kanade had been involved in the investigation behind the scenes, providing information on the parasite, as she named it. She turned to Masamune. "Change of plans. Forget getting to the airport and try to defeat this thing."

Masamune gave a confident smile. "On it." He launched Striker which started attacking Eagle repeatedly.

Tsubasa wanted to believe it would work out, but there was that strange feeling that it was only the calm before the storm. It didn't take long before the feeling was confirmed when Dark Tsubasa decided to take things up a notch.

All Tsubasa remembered seeing was the horrified faces of his friends and the EU team before the world faded to black.

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long. School and studies have kept me busy. While I can't guarantee that the next one will be earlier than this, I'll try my best. Thanks for stopping by and reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

**resplandorrosa626** : I'm glad you liked it.

 **stormnml** : I'm glad you liked it so much. I've always imagined what a close GG Galaxy would be like. The characters had so much potential. It's a shame the show was so plot-centric. I really didn't have much to go by so most are just headcanons and stuff, so to thanks.

 **Guest** : Ikr. I had so much fun writing the two of them. As for them getting together, well, maybe that'll happen, maybe not. Although it's more likely to be the first one.

 **Guest #2:** I know, right? The whole story had so much potential wasted. You're right, you can't walk away after having your life sucked out. You've given me an excellent idea for Kyoya (maybe this fic, maybe another) so thanks. Don't worry, you'll get your explosions soon enough.

 **Mawazo** : The show has awesome characters. It just wasted them though. I'm glad you like my characterization so much. The fight between Tsubasa and Excalibur happened because I really liked it and it won't be happening in the fic again. As for seeing what happens, you'll have to wait for a chapter or two. This one will be focused on Gingka and the next one on Madoka (I don't care what anyone says, she's a part of the team). Sorry for not updating in so long. My reason is given in the A/N at the end.

 **Guest #3:** Haha, lol. Now I can't wait either.

 **Guest #4:** Yup, never mess with the ice-cream.

 **Guest #5:** I see. That's quite interesting and not to mention, it gave me an idea for that scene. Thanks!

* * *

 **Sequestration: Chapter 14: The Kidnapper**

Gingka had no idea what was going on. Yes, he knew that he had been ambushed and kidnapped. But that was as far as his knowledge went. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know who his kidnapper was and he had absolutely no idea how in the world he would get out of this one.

And this, he guessed, was why Kanade had been against letting "children" run around the world on their own. Of course, it had been her word against the chairman and all those other people who just wanted to get it all over with.

He sighed, taking out Pegasus from his pocket. "How on earth are we going to get out of this one?"

He didn't get a reply not that he had expected one.

The door clicked and he immediately put Pegasus back. There was no need to give his captors any ideas.

A blond entered the room and Gingka asked, "Why are you here?" He was not in the mood to deal with the person responsible for this.

The guy shrugged. "Thought you died or something, since you stopped complaining."

Oh. When he'd woken up, Gingka had shouted non-stop but since that had no effect, he had stopped a while ago. There was a moment of silence but the guy seemed bent on staying for some reason.

Now that he got a closer look at him, the blond seemed to be his age. Just what the heck was he doing, kidnapping people? "Chris," Gingka began. "Why are you doing this?"

The blond gave him an annoyed look. "I told you. I'm a blader for hire. I do whatever my client wants me to do."

Seriously? That made no sense. "Even if it's illegal?"

Chris shrugged. "Doesn't matter. No matter what the conditions, my clients orders are absolute. Nothing else matters."

Gingka remained silent. Why would he want to live the life of a puppet? Didn't he realize that he could get in serious trouble for this?

Then, another thought hit him. Did he even have a choice?

Just what the heck was Chris's story, anyways?

"Why would you want to live a life like that?" he asked before he could help himself.

Chris gave him a look, his eyes considering. "It doesn't matter," he finally said. "No one ever gets what they really want in the end."

"I don't believe that," the redhead said. "I mean, even if we don't get it, we still have friends to help us around. We don't really have to do anything alone."

Nothing more was said between them as Chris turned and left without another word, leaving Gingka to wonder if he had said something wrong.

* * *

Everything was as planned. Gingka had grabbed his chance the moment a distraction appeared. And he didn't even know what was going on! There had been a crash, the captors had been distracted and Gingka slipped away unnoticed.

Running along the seemingly endless corridor, Gingka couldn't help thinking that it had been a bit too easy. He didn't say it out loud though. He didn't want to tempt fate.

There was no need for that either. Apparently, fate could read minds and wanted to toy with him.

Between Gingka and the door to freedom stood one thing.

Chris, with his eyes hard and bey pointing at Gingka.

Honestly, Chris was the last person Gingka wanted to fight. Unlike his other captives, he actually seemed to have a heart.

"Chris–" he began but was cut off when Chris launched. Left with no choice, Gingka launched as well.

As the two boys collided, Gingka decided to confront him. "Chris, why are you doing this?"

Chris glared at him, his purple eyes narrowing. "What's it to you?! Orion!"

The two beys had been trying to push the other back but on Chris's order, his burgundy bey backed before delivering a blow strong enough to knock Pegasus back. However, the blue bey regained its ground and attacked again.

"I want to know!" Gingka shouted back.

"Why?!"

"Because I want to get to know you!" Chris faltered and Gingka took the chance. "I don't know what you've been through, but I want to know! I want to be your friend, Chris."

That seemed to jerk him awake. "Friend?" Chris let out a laugh – a small, bitter laugh. Gingka never knew one could sound so self depreciating and hollow.

Just what on Earth was Chris's story?

"Don't give me any of that crap!"

"It's not!"

By now, Gingka had completely forgotten about the battle and Chris's order served as a reminder. A horrible reminder.

Orion slammed into Pegasus, sending the blue bey flying into the wall. "Pegasus!"

"Time to end this!" Gingka turned back to Chris. The blond was seething with anger.

But his eyes shone with pain.

"Orion, Bernard's Loop!"

What happened next was too fast for Gingka to comprehend. There was a flash of blue, a small explosion and some strange sound, like a building falling to the ground.

The next thing he knew, rubble was falling down on Chris and all the blond could do was stare, completely taken off guard. Apparently, Gingka wasn't the only one who forgot their surrounding.

Without thinking, Gingka grabbed his arm and pulled him away, mere seconds before the wall fell where he had formerly been.

Gingka stared at the destruction before turning to his companion. Chris was staring too, but not at the rubble. Rather, he was looking at Gingka, eyes wide and filled with a number of emotions.

Disbelief.

Shock.

And...fear?

"Chris?"

The blond remained silent, still staring. That was when Gingka noticed that he was trembling.

"Chris?" he tried again, much more gently and the blond's breath hitched.

What the heck was going on?

Footsteps reached his ears and Gingka accidentally let out a curse he'd heard Ryuga say. That seemed to get a reaction out of Chris and the blond jumped slightly, making Gingka let go of his arm.

As the footsteps got nearer, Gingka's mind flew into panic mode. He couldn't leave Chris. The blond would, no doubt, have to face the consequences of letting him go if he ran away. But Gingka didn't want to stay either. He had to go back.

So, he followed the only option that came to his mind.

He snatched the beys from the ground, grabbed Chris's arm again and dragged him into the forest that had revealed itself from behind the now pile of rubble, ignoring Chris's shocked cry.

* * *

Once he was sure they were no longer being followed, Gingka Dell on the ground, breathing hard. "W-We...made it..." he breathed out.

When he received no response, he turned to the blond who had remained silent since the wall broke. Chris had his knees brought to his chest, his head buried in them and his arms wrapped around his legs tightly. He was shivering and mumbling stuff too low for Gingka to hear.

"Chris?"

No response.

Gingka reached forward and grabbed his shoulder. That got a reaction. The blond jerked backward and held his arms in front of his face in a defensive position, looking at him with wide, fearful eyes. His trembling increased and his breath picked up as he panted.

Gingka drew back immediately. "Hey, it's okay!"

Although he still looked suspicious, Chris relaxed a bit, still eyeing him for any sudden move.

"You okay?" Gingka asked the only thing that came to his mind, even if the answer was an obvious 'no'. Surprisingly, Chris answered. "...n-no..."

Gingka didn't ask anymore questions. The quiet, shaky answer had been enough to let him know that Chris needed to calm down.

For a while, silence reingned between them and Gingka used the time to calm himself down. He couldn't help Chris. At least, not before he calmed down and answered his questions. His mind went back to the whole thing. Then, one thing sunk in.

Gingka had kidnapped his kidnapper.

No wonder Tsubasa always said that he did the strangest things.

"W-Why...?" Gingka turned to Chris, not having expected him to say anything. Maybe he had imagined it. It had been quiet.

It seemed that he was wrong, however, for Chris spoke up again. "Why did you help me?"

Gingka mulled the answer in his head. The last thing he wanted was to give the wrong answer and test the possibility of having Chris freak out again. It was clear as cleaned glass that he hadn't completely recovered, if the shaking was anything to go by.

Then again, he also didn't want to lie. From what he'd seen, Chris didn't believe in anyone but himself, so there was the chance that he'd been deceived and liked to before.

Eventually, the second reason won over any excuse he could ever come up with.

So, Gingka told him the truth. "I told you, I want to be your friend."

"This much? You do realize that you're putting yourself in danger, right?"

Gingka removed his gaze from the ground – when had he started staring at it? – and turned to Chris, studying his expression. The blond had a far away look in his eyes as he stared at the trees, as if he was looking at something that wasn't even there.

The redhead decided to speak up. "Well, friends are always worth anything."

Chris turned to him, his gaze suddenly cold and calculating. If he was being honest, it unnerved Gingka. "You really believe that?"

Just what was with this guy? Why was he so bent on not believing him? "Chris, did something happen to you?" Chris froze at the question and looked away. "Why are you always trying to be alone?"

"It's none of you business." His voice was low and filled with emotions – and none of them good – but it felt like he was being

shouted at. "What do you know about me, anyways?"

Gingka didn't know why, but for some reason, he wanted to show Chris that friends were supposed to be there for you. "Nothing, but I want to know, if you're willing to talk."

Chris turned to him again, his eyes searching for something Gingka didn't know. Finally, he looked away and spoke up. "My friends left me. There. End of story."

For some reason, Gingka could help but laugh. "That's not how you tell a story. There's supposed to be a start before and ending."

Chris shot him a scowl. "Fine." Then, his scowl faded and even though he wasn't looking at him anymore, Gingka could see a new emotion in his eyes. Loneliness.

"We were on the same team, competing in the World Championships. They weren't really bad. I was just better. Whenever they'd lose, I'd win for them. But you can't advance if your team doesn't win. I tried to tell them that it was okay, that we could try again next time but..." Chris glared at the trees, his hands curling up as his shoulders tensed. "They left me." The three words held more rage than Gingka had ever heard in his life. "They left because I was too strong. They... They were supposed to be there. You said that friends help each other. They didn't even care about me." By now, all anger had left his voice, but Gingka wished it hadn't. It had been better than the utter resignation and defeat that replaced it. "They didn't care at all..."

Gingka remained silent. What could he say to that? But one thing became clear. The reason why Gingka wanted to help him so badly was that Chris reminded him of Ryuga after the whole Dark Nebula thing. Alone and hopeless.

Chris turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Now what?"

"Huh?"

His eyes narrowed further. "You're going to leave too. Am I right?"

For a moment, Gingka was silent. Anything he might have said would have seemed insincere. After a while, he said, "No." Chris's eyes widened. "I get where you're coming from now, so I won't ask you to consider me a friend right away. All I want is for you to give me a chance to show you that people can be trusted."

Gingka's eyes didn't leave the blond as he stared, thinking. "Fine," Chris said after a while. "You did save my life." His eyes narrowed again. "But if you even try to turn on me–"

"I won't," Gingka cut him off. He was going to earn his friendship and show him that he didn't have to be alone.

And that was a promise he was going to keep. No matter what.

* * *

 **Okay, so this became more of a Chris chapter than Gingka. Not what I had in mind, but I guess it works. If anyone thinks that Chris is OOC, remember that he was introduced in Fury, which is a year after this, so he had more development in the canon than he did at this point in this fic.**

 **Now, if you haven't read my profile, all my storied are going to be on a temporary haitus or at least will have vey slow updates. Sorry, but my exams are just a week or so away and I have to study or my tab will be confiscated. Besides, my brother had to take the laptop with him to the hostel and I'm still getting used to writing on something other than a real keyboard. Sorry again.**

 **By the way, does anyone know how to add a line break on the phone?**


	15. Chapter 15

**stormnml:** Thanks, I'll need it. I found out how to access the app and the website on my tablet only, so no probs. So, did you find the right adjective for out redheaded idiot? Well, I'll try to make Chris both similar and different, but thatllt be way too hard.

 **Mawazo:** Yeah, too bad the chapter's short. Not really much going on in this one. Yeah, thtt moment was so sad. It broke my poor heart. I'll see what I can do about the legendary bladers (the draft I have in my head is really bizarre). Thanks!

 **Guest:** I don't know yet. Maybe? Legendary bladers Yu would be epic! And now, I have an AU story in my mind. Imagine Kyoya's reaction when he finds out that instead of Tithi, Yu is the legendary blader. Well, I don't know about his complete Fusion personality (I doubt he'll just follow anyone without thinking now) but he will definitely be stronger than his Master's counterpart. As for Tsubasa, well, the next few chapters will – hopefully – be centered around him and the Dark Power. Yeah, but I love long reviews.

 **resplandorrosa626:** Thanks, I know I'm awesone. Thanks for understanding.

 **Fire4Heaven:** I see, thanks for the warning.

 **Guest #2:** Yeah, too bad I'll be going into a short haitus again. Sorry! You were right, it is Chris. Haha, only Gingka would kidnap his kidnapper.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Sidelines**

Madoka couldn't help reflecting. Staring at the starry sky, shining with lights that resembled thousands of floating lanterns, she couldn't help but think. Not just about the tournament but ever since she had met Gingka and the others.

All the time, while she had done her best, the most she could do was fix their beys and analyze the opponents'. Sure, she had helped them sneak into the Dark Nebula head quarters, but that was just once.

Her hands clenched by her sides. It wasn't enough. There had to be more! Throughout the World Championships, it was the same. All she could do was, again, fixing the beys and gathering information.

It wasn't that she could battle in the tournament. She'd need a lot more practice and a proper bey for that. But still, Madoka wanted to feel useful.

Now, when everyone else was missing, all she could do was leave things to the adults and stay put.

She was always on the sidelines. She had never realized it before, but now, it seemed obvious.

"Madoka?" She turned around to see Emi, her younger sister. The small brunette was rubbing her blue eyes sleepily with one hand while clutching brown bear in the other. "Why are you awake? Mommy will get angry again."

Despite herself, Madoka smiled. "It's nothing. Just thinking."

Emi sat down next to her and looked at her, her big eyes brimming with curiosity. "Your friends will be fine. Everyone looking for them."

"I know, but that's not it. At least, not completely."

The five year old tilted her head. "Then what?"

Madoka considered it for a moment. There was no doubt that Emi wouldn't understand, but maybe telling someone would make her feel better. "You see, ever since this whole thing started, I haven't really done much for the team."

The younger one blinked. "B-but you fix everyone's beys and stuff."

"Yeah." Madoka turned back to the sky. "But that's not enough. I want to do something more for the team, you follow?"

Emi put her finger to her chin in a cutesy thinking pose. Then, she smiled brightly. "We can figure it out together!"

Madoka glanced at the clock. "How about tomorrow? You have school so you should be sleeping."

Emi nodded rapidly. "Okay!"

Madoka watched as the girl ran to her bed. Maybe, if she couldn't help look for them, she could use this time to find out what more she could do.

* * *

"Madoka, honey, will you get your father? I swear that man's work is his life."

Madoka nodded to her mother. "Sure." Picking the tray from the kitchen counter, she walked off.

As expected, her dad was in his study, typing the keyboard off of the computer. Madoka giggled, turning his attention to her. "Morning, Dad."

He smiled at her. "Morning."

Setting down the tray at his desk, she glanced at the screen. A Fusion Wheel was displayed on it, yet it seemed different. It was split into two rings with gaps and joints between them. The text next to it caught her eyes.

"Mode change? Like Gravity Destroyer?"

She turned to her father, silently asking for an explanation. The man rubbed the back of his head. "You see, I've been trying to create parts that can change modes. Of course, I'm not having much success."

Then, it hit her. All this time, she had been fixing the team's beys, but how about modifying them to suit their style better? "I could help," she offered.

"Thanks. I'll need it."

* * *

It took a while before the thing was finally mastered. Maybe asking Emi to test them wasn't the best idea, since the girl had very little experience with beys, let alone mode changing ones. A week or two later, they finally got the hang of it.

But for Madoka, it still wasn't enough. Sure, they were done with the procedure, but she had yet to create ones that suited the team's style. Then again, she also needed their beys, which she didn't have. Yes, she could use the data she had on her laptop, but doing it on person was always the best.

So, with nothing else to do, Madoka decided to create a database on everyone's beys, including their strengths and weaknesses and possible improvements.

With all of this, she almost forgot about her friends' predicament. Almost.

So, imagine her surprise when she got a call from the WBBA. "Masamune was found?!"

At the other end of the conversation, Ryo spoke, "Yes. According to our agent, he was completely unharmed. They should be returning soon."

Madoka let out a breath the hadn't realized she was holding. "That's a relief."

She sighed in contentment as she hung up. One of them was found. It wouldn't be much time before the others were.

A grin made its way to her face. She couldn't wait to show them all she'd learned.

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter. I really had no idea what else to do. The next update will take a while, but it will definitely be longer than this.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Yes! I'm alive! JK, still have a week off exams. But anyways, let's fpcurs on something else. Like the fact that Kaleidoscopic has reached 102 reviews! Seriously guys, thank you so much! I Neve thought it would be such a big hit when I started it. I really appreciate your support.**

 **Mawazo:** Oh, she learned loads. I'm gonna have so much fun torturijt poor Tsubasa in the next chapter? The rest of the team...well, just wait and see. As for Striker – yup, same name – well, itlli come a bit before the EU match. This is gonna be so much fun! And thanks! I still can't believe this fic has over 100 reviews.

 **Guest:** Thanks! It was kind of hard, deciding what to do and how to do it, but as long as you guys like it, I'm willing to work however hard I need.

* * *

 **** **Sequestration:** **Chapter 16: Plans**

Light hit his face and he shit his eyes tightly. He didn't want to wake up yet. His whole body hurt. He didn't remember why though. He just wished his teammates could stay quite for once.

"MASAMUNE KADOYA!"

Apparently, he wasn't getting that. Just what the hell did Masamune do to make Kanade this mad?

Wait, Kanade? What was she doing there? Come to think of it, where was 'there', anyways?

In his musings, he forgot about Yu's habit of throwing water on sleeping people. Therefore, he was met with a wave of cold water to the face.

Sputtering, he sat up on the bed, ignoring Yu's laughter. "That's what you get for pretending to sleep after being unconscious for two whole days."

Two days?

"Yu, I thought we agreed on not doing that," Kanade said at the same time as Masamune said, "Nice one, Yu." The redhead glared at him.

"What happened?" he asked.

The three turned to him and then exchanged looks that made Tsubasa dread the answer. Kanade sighed. "Long story short, the Dark Power went haywire."

"Dark Power?"

"In the Battle Bladers," began another voice. Tsubasa's eyes widened and he turned, finding Ryugan staring at him without his usually smug expression.

Now that was scary.

"You absorbed some of the Dark Power. It's only a tiny fragment though, the last one remaining."

Great, trouble just loved him, didn't it? First, he had to be an undercover agent to infiltrate an organization led by a madman who could kill him without a second thought. Then, he had to travel around the world with a certifiably insane team. And now, he had somehow been infected with a deranged split personality that made even Ryuga go crazy.

He mentally shivered at the beastly image of Ryuga being "eaten" by L-Drago in the finals of the tournament.

"Brilliant," he muttered.

Ryuga's insane expression returned. "Now that Sleeping Beauty is awake, we're going to Japan to drop you idiots off. You're honestly more trouble than you're worth."

Crap, he didn't like Kanade's expression. "Actually," she began with a torturous smile. "You and Sleeping Beauty are staying here." Apparently, Ryuga's glare didn't bother her and she continued, "And you'll help him control this...thing."

Ryuga's expression was murderous. "Why would I do that?"

Kanade shrugged, "'Cause you owe Uncle Ryo and Tsubasa that much, at least."

There was a moment of silence before the self-proclaimed Dragon Emperor spoke up, "Fine." His eyes, however, practically screamed that he didn't want this.

"Good. Meanwhile, the three of us will return to Japan."

"Aww, we're leaving?" Yu asked. "I wanna stay with Tsubasa and Ryu."

Kanade raised an eyebrow. "And leave Madoka to work her head off?" She then smiled. "Don't worry, they'll be back before you know it."

Yu smiled, though it didn't completely reach his eyes. "Yeah."

Tsubasa, meanwhile, was contemplating if he should write his will.

* * *

Chris was definitely calmer when they woke up. Gingka was just glad he hadn't gone back to his "I-must-follow-my-clients-orders" attitude. In fact, he was actually a pretty good guy, once you saw past his uncaring attitude.

"Let it rip!"

Of course, being lost in a forest was no excuse for not blading, not at all. That was the number one priority ever, no matter where you were.

Pegasus was sent flying by one of the small stones on the path. Again. Curse the stupid, uneven path.

"Darn it!"

The bey landed right in front of Chris's foot. The blond picked it up, but instead of returning it, he kept staring at it.

"Uh, Chris?"

The blond jumped slightly before extending his hand. "Sorry."

As Gingka got his launcher ready, he spoke up, "You do realize that you could do it by using the light rubber flat Performance Tip, right?"

Gingka froze for a second, before turning back to him. "Light what?"

Chris sighed, as of he was expecting it. "The light rubber flat Performance Tip. It could increase it's speed beyond limit of you use it."

Gingka thought over it for a second. "Huh, never even noticed it." he grinned. "Let's try it out!"

"Maybe later," his companion said. Gingka turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "We have to keep moving."

Gingka pouted. He wanted to argue, but he knew that the blond was right. "Fine… Just how big can a stupid forest even be?"

Well, at least now he knew what else to work on.

* * *

Madoka worked on another bey that had been given in her care by a customer. Meanwhile, Emi played with the parts next to her.

"Hey, Madoka, why don't you bey battle anymore?"

Madoka froze. "Huh?"

Emi turned to her with a curious expression. "I asked why you don't bey battle anymore."

"O-Oh." Madoka turned back to the bey with a frown. She suddenly didn't want to fix it anymore. At least, not now. She still remembered the time when she was little, when her bey was trashed, just like Hyoma, Kenta and Yu's back in the Battle Bladers. She could never get herself to battle after that. No matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't.

"Madoka?"

Madoka jumped slightly. Blinking rapidly, she realized that she had been staring at the bey for a while. "N-Never mind, let's go. It's time for lunch."

"Okay!"

As Madoka began to close the door behind her, she glanced back the bey lying on her work bench with tools and parts scattered around it.

Even if she couldn't battle, she wasn't going to give up. She would make her comeback someday and until then, she was happy to be Gan Gan Galaxy's supporter member.

Hmm, maybe she should make individual training plans for them.

* * *

Tsubasa looked around, looking both scared and bewildered. "Why are we in a volcano?"

Ryuga smirked slightly, amused at his apprehensiveness. He loved volcanoes because...well...who didn't? Not counting Hyoma, that is.

He shrugged in reply. "I have my reasons. But more to the point," his expression morphed into a glare. "I want to know what you were thinking back there? Why the hell would you let that thing control you?"

Tsubasa gave him a slight glare and Ryuga inwardly snorted. Was that supposed to scare him? "You said not to resist."

He sighed. He knew talking all cryptically would bite him one day, by wasn't Tsubasa supposed to be the smart one? "I didn't say let it do whatever it wants." He closed his eyes, burying the temptation to sic L-Drago on him. "Whatever, let's just get this over with."

Tsubasa's only response was, "I really should've written my will."

Ryuga grinned like a maniac.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Seriously, it's still better than the last one. I was thimkthi I should rewrite it or something, but I have no idea what to do. Anyways, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. By the way, am I the only one who likes describing Ryuga's expressions as "like a maniac"?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Mawazo:** Thanks! Poor Tsubasa indeed.

 **Guest:** Honestly, no. But now that you mention it, it does seem similar. As for Sora, well, I don't know yet, but I think I could pull him along somewhere.

 **Guest #2:** That's an interesting thought. I have a few plans with Madoka and her bey. Reiji's hair _does_ seem like a wig.

 **Guest #3:** Probably? I don't know, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to explain what you mean.

 **Guest #4:** You have a point. It's possible that he was holding back, but that doesn't seem very much like Yu. Then again, he could have gotten overconfident in the middle of the battle. When Masamune was started to panic, he let his guard down. You follow? He does tend to underestimate people (the battle with Enzo). I guess I could show his reaction somewhere in the fic.

 **Guest #5:** Lol. Imagine if he said that to Kyoya.

* * *

 **Sequestration: Chapter 17: The Next Adventure**

Gingka looked around the airport, trying to spot any familiar face. He and Chris had managed to contact his dad, telling him that they were on their way.

A shout caught his attention. "Gingka!"

He turned to the source, finding most of his teammates there. All except Tsubasa. He had been notified of his torture...er... _training_.

The redhead smiled as he and Chris made their way through the crowd.

He was finally home.

* * *

Tsubasa panted in exhaustion as Ryuga stared - no, glared - at him. This was not working at all! No matter what he did, the Dark Power always managed to counter it. Did Ryuga expect him to overcome something he didn't even understand?

"Again," the Dragon Emperor ordered, not budging at all at the state he was in.

Frustration seeped through him. He was done with this! He never asked for any of this, so why should he deal with it? He was tired of trying without results. Tired of getting possessed at every turn. Tired of Ryuga giving him the same. Damned. Order.

"No!" he exclaimed, straightening from his tired slouch, narrowing his eyes challengingly. "I'm through with this!"

Ryuga stared after him as he stomped away. He wasn't too worried. After all, he had gone through this stage too. When all seemed hopeless.

He knew that no matter what he did, Tsubasa would have to face this on his own. Eventually.

If only the Eagle user realized it. Because it was all on him.

* * *

Tsubasa stared at the starry sky. He was alone in the moonlit wilderness, something he was glad for. He needed to think things through.

Crunch. Crunch.

He ears twitched at the sound and he turned, coming face to face with the last person he wanted to see.

Ryuga.

Tsubasa gave him a slight glare that didn't hold a candle to Ryuga's own. "What?" The question came out harsher than he intended.

Ryuga's eyes slightly. "Hurry up so we can end this stupid punishment."

Did Ryuga seriously think he was going to listen just like that? Well, he had another thing coming if that was the case.

"No. I'm not doing this."

Ryuga looked murderous. "So, you'd rather kill your _friends_ just because you're scared?" he jeered.

Tsubasa froze for a few seconds. "What?"

"What do you think happened when you lost control? You nearly killed those two idiots." Ryuga turned around. "Do whatever you like. See if I care."

He began to leave, only stopping when Tsubasa spoke up, "Wait."

Ryuga smirked. So, he wasn't _that_ hopeless after all.

* * *

Eagle collided with L-Drago fiercly and repeatedly as Tsubasa tried to gain control over Dark Tsubasa.

 **"You really think you can win without me? Without me, you're nothing."**

Tsubasa shook his head. _"Just leave me alone, will you? I don't need you, got it?"_

Dark Tsubasa smirked. **"Really now? The truth is that you don't need anyone except me. Especially not those so-called friends of yours."**

Tsubasa gritted his teeth, remembering Ryuga's words. No, if that was the price he'd have to pay for this power, then he was fine without it.

He was himself, not some psychotic maniac and he was going to prove it.

It was later that night that Tsubasa and Ryuga teleported to the WBBA, having solved the whole Dark Power fiasco. _That_ was going to give him nightmares for weeks.

* * *

The next morning, everyone was still to go. Their next destination was India, to watch Team Wild Fang face off against Team Chandora.

"Now, make sure not to get into more trouble," Ryo said. "It's too late into the tournament to assign permanent bodyguards to each team and as executives of the tournament, we can't show favoritism for any one specific team." He sighed. "As much as I'd like to do that, I can't, so you'll have to be more careful." At the last statement, he looked at Yu who smiled sheepishly.

Gingka smiled. "We'll be fine."

"That's what you said last time and look what happened," his cousin said. Gingka gave Kanade a sheepish look.

"Not like we did it on purpose."

Kanade sighed. "Nevermind. Chris," the blond looked a bit surprised at being addressed for the first time in the conversation, "thanks for getting this idiot back."

As Gingka expected, the blond looked away as he mumbled a, "No problem." The redhead smiled.

"Also," Kanade continued, "I have a proposal for you." All eyes turned to the young girl. "I would like you to join the WBBA as an agent."

What?

"An agent?" Chris repeated, his tone laced with disbelief. "Me?"

Kanade crossed her arms as the corner of her mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Don't see any other Chris around here. It's your choice, of course, but I want you think about it."

As the blond gaped in disbelief, Gingka spoke up, "That's awesome!"

"I'll think about it," Chris said after a moment's silence.

"Then it's settled," Madoka said. "Come on guys, our plane will leave without us if we're late."

* * *

Gingka turned away from the window as the airport drifted out of sight. To his side, he could see Masamune and Yu engaged in a friendly — albeit loud — conversation.

In front of them, Madoka was looking up the teams they would be observing, beaming at the computer screen. Next to her, Tsubasa had his nose in a book — though Gingka could tell he was paying little attention to it — with a small smile.

The redhead grinned to himself. This was just the way it was supposed to be.

Briefly, he wondered what it would have been like if he had some other people as teammates or if they weren't so close. He really couldn't imagine Gan Gan Galaxy like that at all.

He shook his head. It didn't matter.

They were all there and safe, heading towards their next adventure.

That was all that mattered.

* * *

 **Sorry for not updating in forever. Things have been really busy lately, but I'll try to update whenever I can. Mostly on weekends though. I** **hope it didn't seem like a sudden resolve. Honestly, I think their situation has been dragged long enough by now and I was admittedly getting a bit tired of it. Sorry if it seems rushed though.**

 **By the way, who do you think should win in the Wild Fang vs Gan Gan Galaxy match? I mean, should Masamune win this time? Should Gingka and Kyoya's battle end in a tie? What about the tag battles? Comment.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Mawazo:** Yeah, he's a survivor XD! IveI decided to change the matchups a bit, except the Gingka vs Kyoya match. Kyoya winning would be super interesting. Like I always say, I love long reviews and I'm glad you like this story so much!

 **Guest:** Actually, Tsubasa did return at the end of the last chapter, I just didn't show it. Your review was a big help in deciding the matchups, so thanks. Yu and Nile's moves seem very similar. Of course, I'd love to see Tsubasa and Masamune and Yu and Ginkga work together. It would be super interesting.

 **Guest #2:** Well, I don't remember Sora that well, but I could always rewatch the episode. We'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

 **The Raging Winds: Chapter 18: Wild Fang and Press Conferences**

Masamune sighed in relief as they all walked to Madoka's shop. "Man, I thought we'd never get away from those guys."

Having returned from India only moments earlier, the team had been crowded by reporters and journalists. It happened every time but it remained annoying. All those people shouting questions at him so fast that he had no idea which to answer first was a big nuisance.

A familiar voice caught they're attention. "Hey, guys!" They all turned to find Kenta running towards them, beaming.

"Kenchi!" Yu exclaimed as he ran forward and hugged his friend.

Gingka ruffled his hair when Yu let go. "How have you been, pal?"

Kenta looked up at him. "Hey, Gingka! Welcome home!" With those words, he tackled him strongly enough to make them both go rolling down the hill and into the river, where they sat up, laughing like idiots.

"You guys! Get out of there before you catch a cold!" Madoka called to them as they began to walk out of the river.

* * *

"Of course I was watching!" Kenta said. "In the battles with the Chinese team and the Russian team, everyone was totally amazing!"

Masamune grinned. "Naturally. My moves were super cool, right?"

Kenta nodded happily. "Uh huh. Like in that battle with Chao Xin and the battle with Lera! You were awesome!" His grin widened as he soaked the praise. "And now, it's time for the third round. I'm so pumped!"

Gingka smiled. "It's go time, alright." He turned to the bey in his hand, his smile fading. "Time to meet him face to face."

Silence settled in the room for the first time since they got there, only to be broken by Madoka's little sister. "So, who's battling in this round?"

Surprisingly, it was Tsubasa who answered. "That's what the press conference is for." Or maybe, an even bigger surprise was that Tsubasa actually smiled at her bright, "Okay!"

Seemed like he was finally started to open up to others. Or maybe, he just liked kids.

Oh well, as long as it was a good change, who cared?

Madoka sighed in relief as the elevator door opened. It was moments like these that she was reminded that she was still just a girl not even out of school yet and not just the mechanic for the Japanese representative team as many people viewed her.

A smile worked its way on her lips as she walked into the training room Ryo had to install in the headquarters for the team, since the reporters had taken to stalking them.

As she reached inside, she took a glance at everyone's activities. Tsubasa was battling Gingka, both the bladers in deep concentration. Meanwhile, in the second dish, Yu and Masamune were in the middle of a battle, Masamune trying to focus all his senses into finding a way to stop Libra's Photon Ray – Yu had even found out how to move it! – and Yu was, for once, focusing and not letting his guard down.

"They sure have changed a bit," Kenta commented, walking to her and stopping at her side.

Madoka gave him a side-glance. "They've grown up a bit. I was kind of worried, since they were kidnapped right after the Festival of Warriors, but it seems like they're raring to go."

"I know where you're coming from. It seems to me like that has just encouraged them to do their best even more. It's certainly showed them what to work on and their trying their best to improve."

"Let's leave them to it then," Madoka said. "It's time for lunch, but I don't want to get between them and their training. Last time was messy."

Surely enough, the last time some reporters had interrupted their training, Gingka and Masamune had finally broken. Let's just say that they'd be keeping their distance from now on.

The two really didn't want to face the same thing. So naturally, they didn't disturb them.

They valued their lives very, very much.

* * *

Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid the reporters in the press conference.

"Are there any questions for the teams?" Blader DJ asked the crowd of reporters standing in front of the two teams.

"Kyoya, is it true that you gave up your spot as one of Japan's representatives just for a chance to battle Gingka?" One of them asked.

Yu didn't know whether to classify him as brave or stupid. Yo-yo hated it when someone asked him obvious questions. And surely enough, he had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face and his shoulders were slouched. In short, he looked grumpier than usual. And that was saying something.

"That is not important at all," the green haired blader said. Yu was just glad the roof hadn't been blown over from above them. He stood up as the guy stuttered. "Just grab a ticket and come watch us battle." He turned his head to look at Gingky. "Gingka, you better be ready."

The redhead was immediately out of his seat. "I was born ready."

"S-So, is it on?" the man asked.

"Yes, it is." Blader DJ was the one who answered. "The showdown between Kyoya and Gingka is ready to go."

As the reporters murmured amongst themselves, Yu leaned on the table and turned to Tsubasa, who was sitting right next to him, to avoid the flash of the cameras. "No surprise, they're getting the most attention."

Tsubasa didn't even open his eyes as he responded, "It's only natural."

Yu could see Masamune stifle a yawn.

"Hey, Masamoo-moo," Yu whispered and Masamune turned to him. He had gotten a bit more lax about his nickname so Yu could call him that and actually get away with it. "How's your new move coming along, anyways?"

"I'm kind of stuck with it," Masamune whispered back. "What brought this up?"

Maybe it was just Yu but Tsubasa seemed a bit annoyed. "It's not like we're going to have much to do with those two around. I was just curious."

He straightened up when Tsubasa nudged his foot slightly, giving him one of his reprimanding stares. Yu huffed silently. It wasn't his fault he was bored. This was Yu's first press conference and he didn't even get to do much.

After the zoo and the Greece incidents, did Tsubasa really expect him to sit still for so long without anything to do?

It took a while, but the topic was switched to the battle orders and whatnot. How come they hadn't done the whole press conference thing in the first two rounds, anyways?

Oh well, thoughts for another time.

"It's already decided for me, so I'll leave the rest to you guys, okay?" Gingka said in a low voice.

Yu leaned forward slightly. "Can I battle first? Please?"

He briefly wondered if he would have to use his lethal weapon to convince them, but apparently, he didn't.

"Fine," Masamune said. It was an unspoken agreement to let all of them battle as much as they could in the tournament, and seeing as he had been in both the previous rounds, he wasn't going to battle anyway.

Tsubasa shrugged. "Alright."

"So, it's decided," Gingka said. "Yu will be the Advanced Guard, I'll be the Second-in-command and Tsubasa will be the Commander."

It was going to be so much fun.


	19. Chapter 19

**Yes, a quick update. However, the next one will probably be next weekend or something. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

 **Mawazo:** Oh, just wait and see. Yep, _no one_ can stand between Gingka and Kyoya and their battles without getting sent to the hospital or killed. Now that you mention it, Nile never really did lose. Well, why don't you find out? The thing with Tsubasa and the Dark Power is not completely over yet. I'm gonna toture him some more soon~ *insert cliché villain laugh*

* * *

 **The Raging Winds: Chapter 19: Libra Makes Its Appearance**

The rays of Sun, which was half hidden by the horizon, still managed to illuminate the river. Yu stared as the rays were reflected from the water surface, his eyebrows scrunching as his grip on Libra tightened.

His mind was working miles a minute as he replayed everything he'd seen of his soon-to-be opponent. Nile was not one to be underestimated, that much was obvious from his perfect record in the tournament. None from Wild Fang were, to be honest. Kyoya was...well, Kyoya, Nile hadn't lost a single battle in the whole thing, Demure was a complete mystery and it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Benkei had gotten stronger.

Nile's special move was going to be a problem, Yu decided as his mind wandered back to the awesome display he'd given in the second round. The battle had been over mere seconds after its beginning. He would have to think of a way to counter it, but how do you counter something if you don't even know what it is?

Usually, he wouldn't worry so much about it. But then again, letting his guard down had bitten him back more times than he'd like to count. Not to mention, he had never faced an opponent like Nile before. He had always had some sort of data on a person, no matter how insufficient.

But Nile was a complete mystery.

* * *

The day of the battle came sooner than Yu had expected, the remainder of the days having been blown away between practice and their homecoming. It only seemed hours after the press conference that Yu was making his way to the dish in the midst of the roaring applause from the audience.

While he was glad that they were on his side for once, he would have liked them to be quieter. After all, one could only deal with noises so much after spending days in the vinicity of Inferno Blast's ear-splitting sound. And from the looks of it, his teammates would agree.

Still, the loud cheering from Masamune and Gingka gave him more reassurance than anything. Things weren't going to go the way the had the last time he had went ahead to battle an unknown opponent.

Yu shook his head. At least there was someone to stop the battle if things went to far, unlike his battle with Reiji, so he had nothing to worry about.

Besides, what beybattle was fun if you thought about stuff like that?

With those thoughts in mind, he ran to the stadium as his opponent made his way there calmly.

It wasn't long after that that the battle started. As soon as the two hit the floor, Libra and Horuseus started attacking each other. Each clash was accompanied by a loud bang and smoke.

"Yu!" Modoka called out, making him turn to her. "You have to watch out for Horuseus's Fusion Wheel!"

Its Fusion Wheel? Yu turned back to the battle, drowning out everything as he concentrated on the enemy bey. It was something he had learnt after running away from "home". If he concentrated enough, it seemed like he was watching a repeat in slow motion.

His eyes widened when it hit him. Horuseus's Fusion Wheel was wider than Libra's and also uniquely shaped. It was definitely not to be underestimated.

Yu grinned as Libra pulled away. "Libra! Sonic Buster!" He'd wait and see what Horuseus could do, but that didn't mean he had to be a sitting duck.

Slowly but surely, the stadium began to morph into fine sand, yet Horuseus kept spinning perfectly as if nothing had changed. Nile grinned. "Nice try, but I practically grew up in the desert. Horuseus!"

Suddenly, golden coloured blasts erupted from Horuseus, heading towards Libra like bullets.

Throwing his arm to a side, Yu called out, "Dodge them, Libra!"

Libra shot forward, moving away from the bullets in a zigzag pattern when they reached it. Yu's eyebrows scrunched slightly as the dust from the blasts settled, revealing the small craters the attack left. His mind went to his own special move, noting the similarities between them.

"No way!" he exclaimed when he reached a conclusion.

Did Nile's bey also work with supersonic vibrations? It _would_ explain a bit, but Yu really couldn't believe that someone other than him could do that. Besides, he could be wrong about it too.

"Keep it up, Horuseus!"

He jumped at Nile's voice, noticing just in time to see that Libra couldn't avoid it by running. "In that case," he muttered to himself before calling out," Libra! Sonic Wave!"

A glowing green disk appeared from Libra's spin track, colliding with the golden bullet just in time to save the light green bey. Yu sighed in relief as the two attacks turned into smoke in front of his bey.

"I get it!" Madoka exclaimed. "By shooting a blast of supersonic vibrations, Yu was able to destroy the condensed air Horuseus shot at Libra!"

Air? So, it wasn't supersonic vibrations! Still, it was impressive, to say the least.

"I have to say, you're pretty good," Nile commented over the DJ's loud description.

Yu grinned at his opponent. "You're not bad yourself. Libra!"

"Horuseus!"

The two beys collided at the center, creating an explosion of dust, only to repeat the action again and again. At the final clash, the two beys flew to their respective ends of the dish. Horuseus immediately race ahead, stopping at the center as Libra circled around it.

"Huh?" What was he planning now? Yu's eyes narrowed in concentration as he analyzed his possible next move.

Meanwhile, Nile smirked. "Horuseus!"

The said bey's Fusion Wheel and Energy Ring suddenly started glowing golden. Yu hummed to himself thoughtfully. He didn't know what that was, so his best bet was to save the cards he had left. He would need to see what that was before doing anything.

"Libra!"

The green bey charged ahead and clashed with the other, only to be thrown back to the edge almost on contact. Yu's eyes narrowed as his mind worked miles a minute. It seemed to be a defensive technique, but he still didn't know enough to counter it.

Luckily, he had Madoka for a teammate. "The Energy Ring is sending energy outwards to the Fusion Wheel. While Vulcan Horuseus is a defense type, the centrifugal force gives it tremendous attack power."

Energy Ring sending energy to the Fusion Wheel? Then, maybe it wouldn't be able to deflect if he attacked from above.

"Horuseus possesses the face of both attack _and_ defense," Nile said. "Just like how the King Horus possessed the eye of both the sun and the moon."

"Doesn't matter," Yu said. "Libra!"

Libra spun to the edge and was soon above the stadium. Nile's eyes widened as Libra spun right above Horuseus. "Special move!" Yu called out as Libra began to descend. "Libra! Photon Ray!"

"Dodge it, Horuseus!"

Although the bey tried to move away, the green beam hit the ground, creating a huge explosion and lifting up a dust cloud. As the dust settled, Yu's eyes widened on seeing Horuseus still spinning, just inches away from a small crater. Meanwhile, Libra landed near the edge, spinning perfectly.

"It dodged?!" Masamune exclaimed.

However, Nile was gritting his teeth. "Not completely." It was Tsubasa who spoke up for the first time since the match started.

The keys of Madoka's laptop reached his ears along with her voice. "I can't believe it! Horuseus managed to dodge most of the blast, but it was still grazed!"

"Unbelievable folks! Libra's special move is a half-hit!" Blader DJ announced.

"Don't stop now, Yu!"

Gingka's voice startled him into his senses, but it was Nile who acted first. He clapped his hand together and a golden orb formed between them as he called out, "Special move! Horuseus! Mystic Zone!"

A golden pillar rose from Horuseus, its height in par with Libra's Inferno Blast. Yu's eyes widened in alarm as the pillar widened, it's boundaries catching up to Libra fast. He had to do something, and quick. But what?

"Come on," he muttered to himself. "Think, think, think..."

 _"Super fast? Libra's Performance Tip can to that?"_ _Madoka nodded to his question. "Yes. The Eternal Sharp Performance Tip provides Libra an almost perfect balance. Normally, if a bey exceeds it's limit of speed, it loses its balance and gets a stadium out, but with Libra's Performance Tip and balance..."_

That was it! Now, if only he could practically implement it...

The pillar was getting closer and closer. It was all or nothing now. "Okay, let's put everything in this last move! Libra! Spin faster!"

Libra complied and its speed gradually increased to the point where no one could even tell where it was between the after-images.

"What now?" Nile asked no one in particular.

"Here goes nothing," Yu muttered. "Libra! Special move! Sonic Maelstrom!"

Libra's Energy Ring glowed as it spun and soon, so did the stadium. A green aura rose from the dish too the air and within it, there was a figure which seemed like a skeleton surrounded by pink aura, having scales attached to it. Suddenly, sharp pain coursed through his body and Yu had to bite his lips to keep in a scream.

It was only mere seconds later that the golden pillar faded out of existence. The glow brightened to the point where it blinded everyone. Once it was gone, Yu uncovered his eyes and saw the consequences.

One bey down and one spinning.

"Unbelievable! In a dramatic twist, Libra takes the match! The winner is Yu of Gan Gan Galaxy!"

The crowd went wild as Libra returned to his outstretched palm while Yu panted. He hadn't realized it before, but now that the battle was over, he felt exhausted, as if he could sleep through a whole day. The pain has left, leaving behind a light ache in his whole body.

As his teammates ran over to him, Yu's legs gave in and the last of his strength faded as he entered a dark abyss.

* * *

 **Well, what do you guys think? About Libra's appearance, it was telling only constellation that wasn't shown so I wanted to change that. I didn't have a clue of its appearance, so I looked it up on the wiki. It really seemed like a pink skeleton with scales to me.**

 **Regardless, some of the things will be explained in the next chapter, like why it suddenly hurt so much, so stay tuned (always wanted to do that).**


	20. Chapter 20

**Guest:** I do tell same thing XD. Even I don't know if it's terrifying or exciting. Wild Fang's reaction, huh? Sounds interesting.

 **Mawazo:** Yeah, it was a tense fight alright. Yup, Yu's a little genius alright. Read and find out.

 **Diana:** Well, I'm glad you like this story so much. Thanks for the compliments. Yu's a seriously cite kid, isn't he? There's no need to apologise for it? I don't write reviews much either.

 **Guest:** Hmm...I don't know, to be honest. Maybe after the whole round or in a separate one-shot.

 **Guest:** I know, right? Imagine, a hyperactive eight year old genius with power equal to a literal god. That would be epic! Also, I have found a bit of a loophole to make Yu and Masamune Legendary Bladers, but then we'll have to ignore a certain pattern. Oh well, this _is_ an AU.

 **Guest:** I knew there was a move like that! I just couldn't remember which one! I think Gingka would be a bit more amazed than annoyed, though it would have provided a lot of comic relief. As for Tsubasa (lol), well, it's just easier right now. I'll turn to Yu pretty soon. Or maybe Masamune or Gingka. Who knows?

 **Sorry if I replied late. The web has made it a habit to show me the reviews later.**

* * *

 **The Raging Winds: Chapter 20: Hot-blooded Rivalry**

A tense silence would have settled in Gan Gan Galaxy's team room, had it not been for the TV showing Bladder DJ happily shouting the results of the first match. Masamune couldn't find it in himself to be happy though, not with Yu unconscious since the end of the match. He looked at the asleep kid on the makeshift bed, silently pleading him to wake up.

The rest were no better. Tsubasa hadn't moved from his side since they had brought him there while Kenta and Gingka wouldn't stop looking at him, as if he would rise any second.

Masamune could almost imagine him jumping up and saying, "Did you see that? I was totally awesome!"

But he didn't.

Madoka, who had taken to fixing Libra obviously to feel useful, would look up every now and then, her aqua blue eyes filled with concern. She was the one to speak up first. "Gingka, you should focus on your next match."

What?

The redhead turned to her with wide eyes, obviously not having expected her to say anything, let alone that. Neither had Masamune, for that matter. "But..."

Whatever argument he had died away with one look from the brunette. She sighed, her glare vanishing. "Look, I know you're worried, but Yu wouldn't want to be the reason you can't focus on a match, especially this one."

The redhead sighed. "You have a point, but..." He trailed off, glancing at Yu again.

Masamune could understand. None of them could be at ease with Yu unconscious. It just wasn't possible.

A soft groan echoed across the room that had fallen into silence once the TV was turned off. In a matter of seconds, all heads snapped to Yu, who had his eyes partially opened. "Yu!"

The kid blinked, seeming disoriented, as Tsubasa helped him in a sitting position. The silver haired teen kept a hand on his shoulder as Yu spoke, "W-what happened?"

On instinct, they all shared a look. This was going to be hard to explain. "You passed out after the last match, remember?"

It took a few seconds for Yu's expression to clear. "Right! The match! Libra came out, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Tsubasa said. "Calling out a constellation for the first time usually takes a lot out of a person."

Yu turned to him with a curious expression. "It'll come out again, right?"

Hopefully not, Masamune hoped. Not anytime soon.

"Probably." Well, there went that hope. Tsubasa seemed to have read Masamune's thoughts, for he added, "It won't hurt though. It's like a barrier. Once you cross it, calling out a constellation in physical form is easy."

Masamune tried to convince himself that at least he wouldn't get hurt, but it did little to quench his worry. Maybe that's why his mother was so overbearing.

"However," Tsubasa continued, "I want you to keep that move as a last resort only. Try to use it as little as you can. Even if it won't hurt, it can still take a lot out of you."

Yu didn't look happy about it as he nodded reluctantly. "Okay." Then, his green eyes lit up. "It's time for Gingky and Yo-yo's match, right? I can't wait!" Masamune smiled fondly as Yu went on about how awesome the match would be.

* * *

When it came to battles, Gingka and Kyoya wasted no time. Masamune could tell that much mere second after the battle started. The two beys had immediately charged ahead, colliding at the center. They both pushed each other back, neither giving an inch, before being thrown back.

Pegasus circled the stadium at a high speed while Leone took the center. Wasting no time yet again, Gingka ordered, "Go now, Pegasus!"

Kyoya grinned, as if he had expected it. "Lion Gale Force Wall!"

Wind circulated around Leone to for the fastest tornado Masamune had ever seen. Granted, this was the _first_ tornado he had ever seen, but still! He could feel its force all the way at the sidelines.

"Amazing," he couldn't help but comment. Knowing Kyoya's strength was one thing, but seeing it for himself was another.

Still, he knew Gingka could break through that. Hell, even he could break through it and this was the first time he was seeing it. Training with Yu had its advantages, especially because he and Tsubasa had taught the two of them how to "actually _use_ your eyes".

Surely enough, Gingka found an opening in the tornado. And of course, Pegasus was only happy to use it. It was a few seconds later that the tornado was ripped apart. It seemed that Pegasus and Leone had a history of their own, for the blue bey started to attack relentlessly and pushed the green one to the edge.

"Looking good, Gingka!" Masamune exclaimed.

"Is something wrong, Tsubasa?" At Yu's question, he turned to their leader. Surely enough, his eyebrows were scrunched in concentration, his expression troubled for his liking.

"It's just...Kyoya seems so calm," Eagle's wielder said.

Masamune turned back to the battle and surely enough, the said blader was really calm. Smiling, even. What was going on? Did he have some sort of a plan or something?

It seemed that his opponent hadn't noticed though. "How do you like that?" Gingka asked.

Kyoya did something totally unexpected. He laughed. Like a maniac, too. "I'm enjoying this!" What? Why did all of Gingka's rivals have to be crazy? First Ryuga, now Kyoya. It seemed like he attracted deranged people. "This is what a battle should be like!"

Yu hit one of his palms with his fist. "Oh, I get it! Before this battle, all of Yo-yo's opponents weren't strong enough to give him a challenge. So, he's enjoying this!"

Well, that was a bit messed up. Understandable, but messed up.

"Now, show me some more of your _attack_ power!"

Gingka grinned, obviously fired up. "You got it! Pegasus!"

Pegasus moved back a bit and then charged again, even faster this time. However, the attack didn't do much to phase Leone, who kept spinning perfectly. Masamune couldn't believe it. Just how strong was this guy?

"That's Rock Leone's power!" Madoka said. "It's defensive power is like an iron wall."

Kyoya was obviously happy. With a smug look, he ordered, "Leone!"

The green bey responded with an attack, pushing Pegasus back with more ease than it should have been able to.

"It doesn't hesitate to attack either," Tsubasa said.

Yu turned to him with a small frown. "Yeah, but that's because of Yo-yo's personality, right?"

Flabbergasted, Madoka said, "But Leone _does_ have the power to respond to Kyoya's will!"

Things did not look good for Gingka. Masamune now finally understood why everyone made such a big deal about Kyoya. He had almost never seen him battle before, but now, even he had to admit that he was extraordinarily strong. Being able to push Pegasus and making it look _easy_ of all things was not a piece of cake.

Leone kept up its relentless attack, pushing Pegasus back further and further. However, Gingka wasn't about to just let that happen. "Pegasus!"

The blue bey moved out of the way as soon as it got an opening, leaving Leone to move ahead without a target. Pegasus jumped off the edge of the stadium and rose into the air. Its descent ended on Leone, hitting the green bey directly before starting a barrage of attacks.

"That's the way!" Masamune shouted. "Keep attacking!"

Pegasus once again went to the air, too high to be seen without binoculars. Masamune grinned. He knew what his next move would be and no one had ever survived it before. It hadn't been done before and it wouldn't be done anytime soon.

Apparently, fate decided to contradict that thought right away.

As Pegasus came into sight, the winged horse flying at the speed of light, Kyoya grinned. "True Lion Gale Force Wall!"

Leone glowed, its light brighter than even Sun's, as a tornado made its way up higher and higher. Masamune couldn't believe it. This tornado made the previous one look like a gentle breeze. The wind was harsher and it felt as though he would be blown away if he didn't hold on to something soon. It was even accompanied by lightning that echoed around the stadium which, for the first time since the match began, was silent with awe.

Once Pegasus was blown away, the tornado ceased to exist and the wind settled soundlessly. Masamune's ear were pounding though, as his heart beat ran a marathon. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, focusing on the match. This battle was of the hook!

Noticing Pegasus still spinning inside the dish, he sighed in relief. Kyoya was unbelievably strong. Pegasus's Star Booster Attack had always finished the match, but he stopped it. And he made it look _easy_ of all things!

"Just look at this!" Madoka shrieked. "That Lion Gale Force Wall was a hundred and fifty-eight percent stronger than the old one!"

"Yeah, baby!" He could hear Benkei shout from the other side.

Leone was the one who now attacked Pegasus relentlessly. Yet, the blue bey wasn't having any of that and circled around to switch places.

"True Lion Wild Wind Fang Dance!" Kyoya suddenly ordered and another tornado appeared in the stadium.

In a vain attempt to dodge, Pegasus moved away but Kyoya was nothing, if not fast. Soon, the blue bey was flying again, though unwillingly this time.

"Pegasus!" Gingka called in worry as the bey landed in the stadium again.

A small yelp of pain from his right made Masamune tear his eyes from the battle. Tsubasa was leaning forward, clutching his chest as if his heart was trying to come out.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who noticed. "Tsubasa!" Yu cried out in alarm.

Through his pain, Tsubasa managed to give him a smile. "It's nothing, I'm fine." Then, in an attempt to change the subject, he called out, "You can do it, Gingka!"

But neither of them were reassured.

What was going on with him?

"True King Lion Tearing Blast!"

Simultaneously, Leone unleashed five tornadoes spinning at high speed. Then, the most bizarre thing happened. One of them detached from it and moved towards Pegasus.

Meanwhile, Gingka was thinking about what to do. He knew he couldn't dodge that and that Pegasus wouldn't be able to take much more of it. But what could he...?

"The light rubber flat Performance Tip. It could increase it's speed beyond limit of you use it."

"Galaxy Pegasus, huh? Looks like you haven't mastered its true power yet."

Then, it hit him. "Spin faster, Pegasus!"

Pegasus complied and its speed increased while the end of its Performance Tip began to glow red. It suddenly shit forward, avoiding the tornado at the nick of time, circling the stadium as Kyoya's eyes widened.

Masamune sighed in relief – he seemed to be doing that a lot lately – as Tsubasa exclaimed, "Pegasus's speed just increased!"

"But how?" Yu asked.

As if it was a common instinct, the three of them turned to Madoka for an explanation as the brunette started typing at the speed of Team Lovushka's rocket. "It's the Light Rubber Flat Performance Tip! A Performance Tip unique to Galaxy Pegasus. The spikes on its sides in an opposite direction to the direction of the rotation gives it an unbelievable speed!"

Kyoya was gritting his teeth. "Leone!"

The green bey leapt into the air. However, the sky was Pegasus's home ground and Leone couldn't match it in the ability to fly. It wasn't long before both the beys were in the sky, Pegasus highed that Leone.

"How do you like that, Kyoya?" Gingka asked.

"You just handed me the win," the lion's blader said. "True Lion Gale Force Wall!"

In the air? What the heck?

Leone straightened and summoned a tornado in the middle of. The. Freaking. Air. Then, using the tornado, Leone made its way above Pegasus and unleashed the upside down tornado move.

Pegasus was shoved into the ground and the tornado followed. As the bey struggled in the wind, Masamune's eyes narrowed. Something was up.

"Pegasus is slowing down!" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"Since the tornado is upside down, the rotation of the wind is reversed," Madoka eplained. "The wind is pushing against Pegasus's rotation and slowing it down."

Gingka seemed to have reached the same conclusion. "Run for it, Pegasus!"

"I won't let you!" Kyoya shouted over the storm.

Gingka gritted his teeth as Pegasus struggled. For a brief while, Masamune did something he always regretted. He gave up on Gingka. As great as he was, even he couldn't with every time.

However, aside from beyblade, Gingka was known for his stubbornness. "I won't let this end here!"

Suddenly, the tornado took on a blue glow, so bright that they all had to shield their eyes to protect their sight. A giant, blue pillar of aura shot to the sky and widened for a while before fading out of existence. Yet, the signs remained.

Everyone turned back to the battle, trying to see what was going on through the dust cloud that had settled. Once it subsided, they saw the outcome.

Both bladers down. Both beys spinning, if only barely.

This...

This was...unbelievable.

For the first time, it truly hit Masamune just how deep their rivalry went.

Both bladers got up, screaming from the struggle it took. Their voices resounded in stadium silent with awe, as did the small clash the beys made even in their state.

However, both were at their limits and both collapsed at the exact same moment, bladers and beys alike.

The match was a tie.

* * *

"Side effects?" Kanade repeated, staring at the two bladers.

"You were the one who worked on the Dark Power case, right?" At the redhead's nod, Masamune continued. "Well, then do you know about anything that might cause that?"

Kanade sighed, suddenly looking older than any ten year old should. "Unfortunately. I really don't think you guys want to hear this."

Whatever it was, it had to be really bad.

"If it's to help Tsubasa, we will," Yu insisted and Masamune immediately backed him up with a nod.

Kanade sighed once more. "If you're sure. You see, the thing is..."


	21. Chapter 21

**LightKingdom:** I'm glad you liked it!

 **Mawazo:** Yup, it wasn't really that bad. I'm glad it felt like they're a family because that the vibe I've been going for from the beginning. I'm glad liked the battle.

* * *

 **The Raging Winds: Chapter 21: Conquer**

Tsubasa leaned against the wall, his eyes closed as he thought. Not just about the upcoming battle, but also a out Kanade's report.

 _"This is really serious,"_ she had said. _"The Dark Power works by tormenting the host mentally. Once it gains enough control, it creates a connection between itself and the host, one that keeps feeding off the host. Even if it has been defeated, the connection still remains, so there's a chance that it could infect you again. Only you can sever the connection, Tsubasa."_

Honestly, he wasn't sure if that thought scared him or not.

He glanced at the sleeping Gingka, some worry creeping through him. It would be fine, he tried to convince himself. It was just exhaustion, nothing more. Not that it really helped.

Meanwhile, on the TV, Blader DJ was announcing the next match up: Tsubasa vs Demure.

"What's Demure like?" Yu asked. Tsubasa turned his gaze to him, remembering just now that he did, in fact, have no information on his opponent.

"He hasn't been in any battles since the qualifiers, so we're in the dark," Masamune replied.

Great. Just what he needed. An opponent of unknown abilities on top of all of this.

"Do you think you can handle this, Tsubasa?"

Yu's question snapped him out of his pity party and he tried to look more confident than he actually was. "Yeah, I'll be fine. We're too far to lose now."

He didn't know if he could pull it off. But he had to.

He was the team leader, after all.

* * *

"What the...?"

A team battle? It was... unexpected, to say the least.

"Well? Do you accept?" Benkei asked.

Tsubasa turned to the DJ, ignoring the question. "We'll need to discuss this."

The man nodded. "Well, folks, Team Wild Fang has requested a team battle! Gan Gan will be given ten minutes to decide!"

* * *

"So, what should we do?" Masamune asked as Tsubasa walked over to the benches.

Tsubasa closed his eyes as he responded, "They obviously have something planned. But without knowing Demure's abilities, we can't tell what."

"But then, wouldn't it be smarter to fight Ben-ben who we know all about, instead of fighting an unknown opponent?"

Madoka sighed. "Who knows? We can't make a decision like this." She turned to him. "It's your call, Tsubasa."

That was exactly what he was afraid of. If they could use their knowledge about Benkei to their advantage, it could theoretically work. However, if Demure and Benkei used their agreement to their advantage, there would be problems. Of course, it was also possible that he was over-analyzing the situation.

Well, if they couldn't reach a solution, they would just have to wing it.

"We'll accept," he said. "Masamune, get ready." The said blader grinned. "And remember, this is a team battle. We'll have to work together."

"Sure thing. You can count on me."

* * *

"Let it rip!"

The plan was simple. They would wait and see what they had first, though he already knew that Masamune wouldn't just stay out of stuff.

He didn't plan to either.

Eagle and Bull collided and, taken aback by the strength, the purple bey was thrown backwards. Meanwhile, Striker and Scorpio clashed head on.

Benkei wasn't holding anything back, that was for sure. He had gotten way more powerful than the last time Tsubasa had faced him. "In that case, I won't hold back either. Time to use the speed I've got."

Eagle charged forward and attacked Bull, immediately moving away from the counter attack before repeating the same thing. Benkei let out a roar of frustration. "Stay still, will ya!"

Meanwhile, Demure stared at the two beys. "Hey!" Masamune called out to him. "There's no point in just staring at them!"

Striker attacked Scorpio with such a force that it was thrown to the edge of the stadium, wobbling. Masamune's jaw dropped slightly. "Hey, what gives?" Tsubasa would have snickered, had he not been so preoccupied with the battle.

However, after the first few attacks, Demure changed his strategy and went straight towards Bull and Eagle. Scorpio attacked Eagle, making the bey bounce in Eagle's direction. What was he trying to do?

It became clear after a while, when Tsubasa noted that Bull could easily attack Eagle from its bounce. Fortunately, he had a teammate to cover up for him.

Striker collided with Bull in midair, sending the red bey to a side as it took the spot behind Eagle.

"That was close," Masamune said.

"Too close," Tsubasa agreed.

However, their opponents' next moves were synchronized as well. Scorpio suddenly attacked Eagle at an angle that made it fly while Bull attacked just as soon as Eagle landed, preventing it from regaining its balance.

As it moved to strike another hit to add to its barrage, Striker appeared in a streak of green lines and intercepted Bull's attack, giving Eagle the time to recover.

"Time to take this up a notch," Tsubasa said.

"You got it."

Eagle moved forward to attack Bull, though the bey dodged. Tsubasa smirked. Just as planned. Next to Bull, Striker appeared again and charged at it. However, Scorpio intercepted the attack before it could even begin. Masamune gritted his teeth.

"One more time!"

But it was useless. Try as they might, neither Striker nor Eagle could get a single attack to hit. It seemed as if there opponents could predict all their movements. So, this was the enemy's plan all along.

If this kept up, they would end up losing.

Lose?

No! They wouldn't, couldn't lose.

A familiar voice rang through his head, taunting. **"Looks like you're in a tight spot."**

Tsubasa's eyes widened as his mind flew into panic. He had defeated the Dark Power. It couldn't be back.

Kanade's warning ran through his head. _"Even if it has been defeated, the connection still remains, so there's a chance that it could infect you again."_

Damn it! He was sick and tired of this!

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down himself. After all, the Dark Power took advantage of the weakness within one's heart.

However, the momentary slip was enough for it to take control and before Tsubasa knew it, he was watching the dark bey destroy everything in sight.

What could he do? He couldn't resist against it, because that would make it stronger. He couldn't just give himself over on the silver platter either.

Just why did it have to be him?

 _"Once it gains enough control, it creates a connection between itself and the host, one that keeps feeding off the host."_ _"Only you can sever the connection, Tsubasa."_

But how? What could he do that would break this so-called connection?

 **"How pitiful. The answers you seek are right in front of you, and yet you can't figure it out."**

What?

For some reason, Ryuga's voice echoed in his mind.

 _"You're thinking too much. Stop it and just do!"_

Thinking too much? But what did that have to do with...?

That was it! The solution was so easy and so obvious! Tsubasa wasn't sure if he should laugh or tear his hair off.

No matter what he did, his thoughts always went over to the outcome of the match. While his desire to win was a good thing, his irrational fear of losing wasn't. And that was the weakness the Dark Power availed.

Well, not anymore.

For once, he decided to take a leaf put of Masamune's book and just do things while leaving the details for later.

 _"You can't control me! I won't let you!"_

Soon, the dark void of his mind vanished into the stadium. It was eerily quiet, leaving Tsubasa to only guess whatever happened in his absence. Still, it didn't matter. He could figure it out later.

"You okay, Tsubasa?"

He gave Masamune a smile. "Better than ever." He turned back to the battle that was still going on. "Time to finish this. Special move! Eagle! Shining Tornado Buster!"

A purple eagle appeared from his bey and soared high in the sky. Then, it spun as it descended and its speed made it morph into a purple tornado.

Masamune grinned. "Special move! Striker! Lightning Sword Flash!"

They weren't the only ones planning to end it, it appeared. "Bull! Red Horn Uppercut!"

"Scorpio! Poison Needle!"

A black scorpion appeared from its bey, shooting sharp needles from its tail that cut through the air itself. The four moves collided, causing an explosion that made everyone shield their eyes.

Soon, the dust settled and everyone uncovered their eyes as the result became apparent.

Striker and Eagle lay motionless near their respective owners, just as Scorpio and Bull.

Another tie.

Still, Tsubasa couldn't help but feel accomplished. After all, he had not only defeated the Dark Power but also made sure it wouldn't return.

At the stands, Kanade smiled softly, closing her eyes. "He finally figured it out." Though she drew the attention of Chris who was right next to her, she paid no mind to it. "Well done, Tsubasa."

* * *

Meanwhile, deep inside a volcano, Ryuga closed his eyes as L-Drago returned to him, smirking as he did. "Well, what do you know? Girly- boy actually did it."


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, this came out a bit earlier than expected, but who cares? Writing this is fun!**

 **Mawazo:** Yup, another tie. Well, just read and find out.

 **Guest:** Great idea! I'll have to admit, I edited the already done chapter just to add this moment in it. Thanks for the prompt.

 **Guest:** XD!

* * *

 **The Raging Winds: Chapter 22: Finale**

It had been decided to hold the final round as a team battle. Gingka couldn't help being excited. He knew Kyoya would fight without a doubt and he didn't plan to back out either. Meanwhile, Yu was just as excited and talked everyone's ears off about what he thought could happen. Though Gingka didn't think the match would be interrupted by an invasion of mutant mushrooms that could turn people into zombies.

They seriously needed to keep a limit on how many movies that kid watched.

Despite Madoka's attempts at trying to get him to back down, at the end of the day, Gingka and Yu were facing off against Kyoya and Nile.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Libra charged towards Horuseus without wasting a moment. However, just as it was about to make contact, the golden bey moved out of the way and instead collided with Pegasus.

"What's with the shocked faces?" Nile asked. "Attacking the weakest opponent first is a good call."

Horuseus and Pegasus clashed against each other for a while. However, Pegasus couldn't take the completely repaired Hourseus's attack for too long and was sent flying. Though it landed in the stadium, Horuseus wasn't too far behind.

However, so was Leone. Just as Horuseus was about to deliver the last and possibly deciding hit, Leone attacked its own teammate, sending the golden bey away.

"Kyoya!" Nile exclaimed in shock.

"Stand down, Nile," Wild Fang's leader ordered. "Gingka's all mine. Let's do this, Gingka!"

The redhead grinned. "That's what I came here for."

The two beys clashed head-on and though Nile tried to persuade Kyoya to let him do it, Yu quickly distracted him. Libra attacked relentlessly, making Horuseus quickly lose its balance.

"King Lion Tearing Blast!"

"Pegasus! Star Booster Attack!"

But their strengths didn't support them and they both ended up doubling over with pain.

This wasn't good. Gingka knew he couldn't with against Kyoya like that and if Nile decided to join in, things would get way out of hand.

Maybe they would have to implement the plan.

 _"Gingka, I'll give you some time to fight Kyoya on your own,"_ Tsubasa had said. _"But remember that it's a team battle. The two of you will have to combine your strengths eventually."_

"Yu!"

The young genius understood right away and reacted quickly. "Libra!"

At that precise moment, Horuseus charged at Libra. However, the green bey used its unmatched balance to actually lean away from the attack and made its way towards the still clashing Leone and Pegasus. Immediately, it engaged Leone in a completely different battle.

"Why you..." Kyoya growled. "Fine. I'll take you down first. Leone!"

Yu snickered to himself. "Not if I can help it. Libra!"

The two beys clashed head-on, neither of them budging an inch. Meanwhile, Horuseus tried to intercept Kyoya's attack, only to be blocked by Gingka.

As they broke apart, Libra and Pegasus backed down for a while, before charging forward again, only this time, the two circled around each other at a really high speed as they moved. After building up enough speed, the two beys stopped their circular motion and used their momentum to increase the strength of their strikes, sending their opponents flying to the other side of the dish.

"Horuseus!"

Horuseus shot the golden bullets at Pegasus again, though Yu was quick on defense. "Libra! Sonic Wave!"

Libra released green waves which collided with the bullets, leaving nothing but dust. But Nile had other tricks up his sleeves. Horuseus's Fusion Wheel turned into a golden color and it charged forward, sending Libra flying over a small distance.

Gingka's mind went into a panic as Horuseus spun straight towards Pegasus. With its condition, there was no way it could dodge in time. He tried to come up with something but failed.

Luckily, Yu was a genius.

"Libra! Inferno Blast!"

A green pillar rose to the sky and everyone covered their ears at its sharp sound. How come Yu could hear it just fine and not be deaf after it?

"What is he trying to do?" Masamune asked no one in particular.

Gingka would have liked to admit that he knew Yu had a plan, but honestly, he was just as confused, if not more. However, he trusted Yu.

Soon, it all became apparent. With the supersonic vibrations, Yu managed to get Horuseus away from Pegasus and closer to Libra. At that precise moment, the pillar disappeared.

"Libra! Photon Ray!"

The laser struck its target and when the dust cleared, Horuseus was wobbling. Gingka's eyes widened. "How in the world did he survive that?"

"It's the centrifugal force!" Madoka answered. "By sending energy outwards, Horuseus managed to block most of the blast through sheer power alone!"

Meanwhile, Libra was facing a backlash and became unable to move. Seeing the chance, Horuseus charged forward.

"Not on my watch, pal! Pegasus!"

In all the events, he forgot one tiny detail. Kyoya was still in the match.

Leone intercepted Pegasus's attack and while the two engaged in battle, Libra was left at the mercy of Horuseus.

After a moment, Yu exclaimed, "Finally! Libra! Sonic Shield!"

The spherical green shield stopped Horuseus's attack and sent it flying backwards.

Meanwhile, Kyoya decided to take it up a notch. "True Lion Gale Force Wall!"

The raging tornado took everyone by surprise and Gingka, taken off guard, gaped at it. However, it seemed that Kyoya had forgotten exactly how Yu beat him in their first and – not counting this one – last battle.

"Libra!"

The green bey charged forward, straight towards the thundering tornado.

"What is he thinking?!" Nile asked no one in particular. Gingka, who had caught up on Yu's plan, grinned.

To the surprise of many, instead of being blown away, Libra went straight _through_ the tornado and collided with Leone as the circulating wind dissolved into nothing.

"What the heck?!" a shocked Nile summarized his confusion eloquently. "How'd he do that?" No one replied, too preoccupied with the battle.

From the corner of his eyes, Ginkga saw Yu turn to him.

They would have to explain it to him later that he should never look away from a battle.

"Time to finish this, Gingky."

"You said it. Pegasus!"

Pegasus managed to escape Leone's barrage and soar into the sky as preparation for the finishing attack. Libra was less lucky though, for as soon as it took the center of the stadium, Leone made it its new target.

"King Lion Tearing Blast!"

Libra's greatest strength was its stamina, not defense, so the bey couldn't do much instead of being sent flying. It seemed like Gingka would have to finish it before Libra landed outside the stadium.

"Pegasus! Star Booster Attack!"

He wasn't the only one who wanted to finish it, it seemed. "Horuseus! Mystic Zone!"

Gingka gritted his teeth, knowing that there was no way he could defend against not one but two special moves while executing the Star Booster Attack. But Yu was not know as a bey genius for nothing.

"Libra! Photon Ray!"

The beam struck one edge of the stadium, making Libra stay afloat a bit longer than it should have. Then, the beam rotated on the ground, helping Libra gain altitude as it destroyed the stadium. Once it was high enough, the beam vanished as Libra spun upside down.

Awesome move, the redhead had to admit.

"Libra! Inferno Blast!"

In the air? And upside down? Would it even work?

Apparently, it did, for a vertical pillar made its way to the stadium just as Pegasus was about to crash. For some reason, Leone's tornado triplets vanished, providing Pegasus the path it needed for attack. The debacle ended in an explosion of blue and green light.

Once it cleared, Pegasus was right next to Gingka's foot, motionless. Leone and Horuseus were the same way with their respective owners. But Libra was nowhere in sight, so all Gingka could assume was that it was in the stadium in the midst of the dust cloud.

The dust eventually settled, revealing the wobbling Libra.

Wobbling, but still spinning, even if barely.

It took a while for it to register in Gingka's mind that they had won. Once it did, he couldn't help grinning.

They had done it. They had made it to the A block finals.

Yu jumped and cheered as the crowd burst into applause.

"I can't believe this," Gingka heard Nile say.

Kyoya then did something least expected from him – then again, he always _did_ do the unexpected. "Don't worry, it's not your fault." He smiled softly as he got up. "I'm still too weak for this." Then, he turned to him. "I hope you win, Gingka."

That was...unexpected, to say the least. "Kyoya?"

Kyoya smirked. "'Cause you're still gonna lose to me next time."

"You'll battle me again too, right, Yo-yo?"

For once, Kyoya didn't tell (read: shout at) him not to call him that. He closed his eyes, letting out an audible chuckle as he turned around. "See ya," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked away.

Gingka grinned at his greatest rival.

He couldn't wait.

* * *

"So, how'd you know how to do that?" Masamune asked on their way back to Madoka's shop. "Going through that tornado, I mean."

Yu sighed. He was tired to trying to explain that it was easy once you actually used your eyes. And besides, he had trained in a desert. Sandstorms were harder to penetrate because of the sand. "I've fought Yo-yo before too." He grinned. " _And_ I've won every time."

Masamune gaped at him as the others snickered at his incredulous look. "WHAT?! When? How?"

"Well, it was back at the Survival Tournament..."


	23. Chapter 23

**Mawazo:** I'm glad you like it so much! Yup, Yu's definitely not to be underestimated. Both Libra and Leone are cool, just like L-Drago. Then again, I usually like _all_ the beys, so I'm not exactly accurate. I can't wait to write their face-off with Excalibur.

 **Guest:** PJO! Yes! I'm glad you liked the battle! Uh huh, I really enjoyed writing his reaction. Honestly, I thought I was making Kyoya a bit too friendly, so I was quite relieved to find out that it can be considered canon. Man, I love those two and their friendship. I don't know. I might, but probably not anytime soon.

* * *

 **The** **Beginning of the End: Chapter 23: Mishaps at the Airport**

Even though they won the Wild Card, Wang Hu Zhong couldn't win the match which decided Gan Gan Galaxy's opponent. Though, in their defense, Excalibur _was_ a strong team.

But currently, that wasn't the problem.

"No beyblading for a week?!"

Madoka gave the three a look as Tsubasa snickered in the background. All of them knew that look well, Madoka's "And-that's-the-final-word" look. The universal sign that she wasn't going to put up with any more recklessness in a good while.

"No," she forbade. "You've caused your beys enough damage in the last round and until I'm positive everything is okay, you aren't getting them back."

That was another rule. _Don't take your bey until Madoka gives you the okay._

Apparently, no one wanted the time to be extended, so they all gave up without an argument.

Tsubasa glanced at the time. "We're getting late for our flight."

True, since the next match was to be held in Italy, they had decided to go there right away. Though Tsubasa didn't like the look on Yu's face at all.

After all, it was a universally established fact that when Yu smirked, hell was about to go down.

* * *

The thing Tsubasa hated about airplanes was that they were crowded. That day, however, it seemed as if the people had multiplied, making it hard enough to keep track of himself without making sure his teammates were following.

Joy.

As they did, however, Tsubasa forgot one tiny detail. Yu was plotting to get Libra back. It was a widely known fact that the kid would do anything to get his bey back, unless it was damaged badly.

Therefore, no one noticed when Yu somehow nicked Libra from Madoka's bag. Unfortunately, he got pushed around a bit for stopping in the middle of a crowd and lost sight of his teammates. Seeing as he had no idea where to even start looking, it was a bad move. A really bad move.

Meanwhile, the rest of Gan Gan Galaxy managed to get into the plane just as it was about to take off. As the door closed, Tsubasa looked around to make sure that they had everything.

Their luggage seemed to be in place. There were Gingka and Masamune, arguing about who came in first while Madoka tried to break it up as Yu silently egged them on.

Wait, silently? That word could almost never be used for their youngest member. On doing a double-take, Tsubasa realized that something, or rather some _one_ , was indeed missing.

"Guys, where's Yu?"

The question cut through the argument like a knife through butter. For a few seconds, the bunch blinked at him owlishly before looking around and seeing that the kid was indeed missing.

A collective groan was heard from the three but Tsubasa couldn't blame them. This was getting seriously old. Briefly, he wondered if Yu did this purpose and made a joke out of kidnapping.

"Now what?" Masamune asked.

Gingka shot him an incredulous look. "We'll look for him, of course."

"But the plane's already taken off," Madoka said.

What?

Tsubasa looked outside and noticed that the plane was, indeed, in the air now. He was going to kill Yu when they found him.

He ignored the tiny voice in his head that pointed out that they might never find him.

Besides, Tsubasa was sure that the author loved him too much to do something seriously bad.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yu was wandering around the plane, not exactly knowing where to go. Hopefully, he was on the right plane. But if he was, he would have spotted _someone_ by now. Everyone of the team – sans Madoka – had hairstyles that stood out in crowds like sore thumbs.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, Yu opened a random door...and came face to face with Excalibur. The team didn't seem to notice him though, and Yu shut the door as quietly as possible before making the beeline for a hiding place behind the sofa.

Klaus looked up for a few seconds, staring at the place he had been in just a while back.

"What's wrong, Klaus?" Wales asked. Yu held his breath, praying that he wouldn't be found. He settled himself in a way that he could peek from the side of the sofa.

After a few moments of silence, the EU sub member replied, "Nothing." It was silent again for a while, before he spoke up again. "Our opponents, Gan Gan Galaxy, are they going to give us any trouble?"

You bet, Yu shouted in his mind, though he knew better than to say it out loud.

Sophie was the one who replied. "That's right, Klaus. You missed the Festival of Warriors, so you don't know, do you?"

"They're nothing," Wales said, "nothing special at all." Now that's just _rude_! "They didn't stand a chance against Konzern's Gravity Destroyer, that's for sure."

"They won't stand in the way of our victory."

Pride before a fa-all~

On a different note, were they psychic or did they have a mental link or something? How could they be in such perfect sync all the time?

Konzern spoke up, though he didn't even look up from his keyboard. "Granted. But we shouldn't underestimate our opponents." Of course! "Did you forget that Cetus' joint special move was broken by them in that match."

Exactly!

"They broke through Grand Deucalion?" Yu huffed at the note of surprise in Klaus's voice. Seriously, they hadn't been _that_ bad!

"We won't make the same mistake twice," Wales said. "Anyways, it looks like you won't get a chance to battle in this round either. The two of us and Klaus will handle everything."

Konzern smirked ever so slightly. "Is that so, my friend? It means that the hopes of the Italian citizens, who are looking forward to seeing me battle, will be short-changed once again." His smile then faded. "Don't be so confident. Their substitute member could counter most of your tactics, remember?"

Yu grinned, mentally patting himself on the back.

Klaus raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That short little brat?"

Yu's grin faded into a scowl.

 _That_ did it!

Forgetting the situation, Yu immediately jumped out of his hiding place, glaring at the other sub. "Don't call me short _or_ little! I can take any taunt, but the height's off limits!"

Wait, did he just expose himself just because he had been called short and little? Maybe that was why Kanade told him that he had a long way to go before he could be an agent.

He sweat-dropped when all eyes turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" Wales asked, his eyes narrowed into a glare.

Yu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh...well, you see..."

* * *

Team Excalibur turned out to be much nicer than he had thought. Maybe he thought that because they let him have a lot of ice-cream, but who cared as long as he was safe?

After landing at the airport, reassuring his team over the phone that he was okay and being mobbed by a bunch of reporters, the four – Konzern had already left – were on their way to wherever they would stay until his teammates reached Italy.

It was actually a pretty nice place to look at.

There was a clean park where people were walking and chatting.

The buildings were awesome.

A bunch of kids were being picked on by a gang of older people.

Wait, what? Yu did a double-take, realizing that they were, in fact, being picked on. Why wasn't someone doing _anything_?

"Stop!" he shouted with such urgency that the driver couldn't help hit the breaks without a second thought. By the time the car stopped, they had already gone around the corner. Immediately, he jumped out, ignoring the calls of the other three.

* * *

Honestly, Wales had no idea why they had to look after the kid. But it was useless to argue against Sophie when she got into her protective "mother mode", so he just resigned himself to the fact that he had to help look for him, unless he wanted to have a serious lecture from his tag team partner.

By the time he and the other two reached the place, Yu was engaged in a battle with not one but three teens more than twice his age. Seriously, just what was he thinking?

Behind him, a bunch of kids were looking at the battle hopefully, as if _their_ beys were on the line.

"What's he doing?" he asked no one in particular.

"No idea," Sophie replied, keeping her eyes on the battle. Wales noticed her hand ready to reach her bey in case she needed to interfere.

He turned back to the battle, or more specifically, Yu's opponents. His eyes widened when he recognized the tattoo on their shoulders. It was the same gang who no one had been able to defeat so far and that had been going around causing trouble. Then again, neither he nor his teammates had ever had to battle against them, so for all he knew they could be seriously weak.

Apparently, that was not the case, he decided when one of them made a nearby pole fall on Libra by just grazing him.

In hindsight, he really shouldn't have underestimated Yu.

As the pole began to fall, Libra made short work of the other two which had preoccupied Libra and actually _leaned_ away from the falling pole just in the nick of time.

Wales's only thought was, what the hell?!

"How did he do that?" Klaus asked.

"I don't know," Sophie replied, both of them sounding as shock as he felt.

No bey, no matter _how_ good of a balance it had, should be able to pull of such a feat.

"Time to end this," Yu said, drawing their attention. "Libra!"

In a flash, Libra defeated the three beys in one swipe. Holding his hand out, Yu said, "Now, hand over these kids' beys back, you big bullies!"

Oh, so that was what it was about.

Still, being able to defeat three people at once and making it look easy was nothing short of impressive, especially if they could make destroying poles look like a piece of cake.

"And if Yu's just the sub..."

Klaus's statement brought home just how good the Japanese team could be.

* * *

 **Thanks for sticking by so far! By the way, I have edited the first chapter, so please check it out.**


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